April 7, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's tennis team is preparing for a two-match Missouri Valley Conference homestand, as they host Drake on Saturday and Northern Iowa on Sunday. The Redbirds have an overall season record of 5-8 with a 1-0 mark in conference play.
The `Birds began conference action last week after defeating instate rival Bradley, 6-1, and are looking for the same success this weekend. Head coach Chris Hoover thinks the team has their work cut out for them.
"Drake and Northern Iowa are probably two of the tougher teams in our league," said Hoover. "Playing them right out of the gate is going to be tough. It is going to hit us hard and fast."
Illinois State leads the all-time series against Drake, 16-13, since the two teams began facing off in 1982. In last season's match up, Hannah Esker, Ariane Maack and Aniko Kiss all helped to contribute to the `Birds 7-0 sweep over the Bulldogs. Drake is currently 9-7 overall on the season with a valley mark of 0-1.
The Redbirds first began play against Northern Iowa in 1987 and since then hold an impressive all-time series record of 23-4 against the Panthers. The last time the two teams met was in 2010 where Illinois State defeated Northern Iowa, 5-2, with wins coming from both Esker and Maack. The Panthers began conference play against Drake last week with a 5-2 victory, posting a 1-0 valley record and 11-7 overall record.
"We will definitely have to work hard this weekend," said Hoover. "We are going to have to fight to compete against these teams. It is not going to be easy, but we are a good team with good skill, so we can do anything."
Both matches will be held at the Gregory Street Tennis Courts in Normal, Ill. Saturday's match against Drake will begin at 1:00 pm., CDT, with Sunday's match against Northern Iowa starting at 10 a.m., CDT. If inclement weather should arise, both matches will be held at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill.
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