March 24, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's tennis team is set to open Missouri Valley Conference play Friday as they travel to Peoria, Ill., to take on in-state rival Bradley.
The Redbirds enter Friday's match with a 4-6 overall record after losing to UIC, 5-2, last week. After a week of practice, head coach Chris Hoover is ready to begin conference play.
"It is always exciting to begin playing some conference teams," said Hoover. "We're looking forward to starting with Bradley. We are still trying to find some doubles combinations and improve on our singles play but we're hopefully looking to get our first valley win of the season."
Illinois State juniors Aniko Kiss and Hannah Esker, along with sophomore Ariane Maack have previous experience against the Braves, after leading ISU to sweep Bradley, 7-0, March 26, 2010. The `Birds have won the last 32 matches against the Braves and lead the all-time series 37-13.
Friday's match is set to begin at 5 p.m., CDT, at the Markin Tennis Courts in Peoria, Ill.
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