April 6, 2011
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
Final Stats 
The Illinois State women's tennis team lost a tough match to Illinois, 7-0, Wednesday in Champaign, Ill., at the Atkins Tennis Stadium. Illinois State is now 5-8 on the season and 1-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Despite the overall loss on the day, head coach Chris Hoover saw improvements in his team.
"(Wednesday) was a step in the right direction," said Hoover. "It was much better than our past few matches."
In doubles action, Phyllis Tigges and Ariane Maack finished first losing to Breanne Smutko and Amy Allin, 8-3, at the No. 2 position. Hannah Esker and Sarah Streitz were defeated by Misia Kedzierski and Annie McCarthy, 8-5, at the No. 3 position, securing the doubles point for Illinois. Aniko Kiss and Carolina Abello were the only hope for a redbird win, but lost, 8-7 (7-3), to #20 Rachael White and Allison Falkin at the No. 1 position.
In singles, McCarthy beat Gabby Phillips, 6-1, 6-1, at the No. 6 spot with Tigges losing to #96 White at the No. 2 position, 6-3, 6-2. In No. 1 singles, Kiss was defeated by Allin, 6-1, 7-5, while Abello was downed by Falkin at the No. 3 spot, 6-3, 6-2. Maack lost to Smutko at the No. 4 position, 6-2, 7-5, while Esker played a heartbreaking, three-set match losing to Leigh Finnegan, 6-7 (8-10), 6-4, 1-0 (10-3).
Hoover expressed his overall thoughts on the day.
"(Wednesday) was a little better," said Hoover. "We were definitely in it but we were just a little slow getting out of the gates. We had a real shot at No. 1 doubles and No. 4 and 5 singles, but we struggled to finish."
The Redbirds will continue their spring season as they carry on with conference play against Drake and Northern Iowa, Saturday and Sunday. Both matches will be played at the Gregory Street Tennis Courts in Normal, Ill., with Saturday's match against Drake beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT, and Sunday's match against Northern Iowa starting at 10:00 a.m. CDT. If inclement weather should arise, both matches will be played at the Bloomington Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill.
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