April 9, 2011
Results in PDF Format 
OMAHA, Neb. - The Illinois State men's tennis team got off to an impressive start in Missouri Valley Conference play Saturday afternoon, sweeping Creighton, 7-0, at the Koch Family Tennis Center in Omaha, Neb.
The Redbirds started fast in doubles, sweeping all three matches. Alexander Pelaez and Timon Reichelt edged J.T. Christian and Billy Paluch, 8-6, on the No. 1 court. Matej Zlatkovic and Tuomas Manner cruised past Kyle Obermeier and Sean Mathison on the No. 2 court, 8-2, while Filip Miljevic and Skip Span pulled out an 8-3 victory on the No. 3 court over Ryan Norman and Gabe Nagy.
ISU continued its momentum into its singles matches. Pelaez took down Paluch in straight-sets on the No. 1 court, 6-3, 6-3, while Miljevic defeated Christian on the No. 2 court, 7-5, 6-2. Manner was able to get past Obermeier in straight-sets on the No. 3 court, 6-3, 7-6, while Zlatkovic took down Bryan Lube on the No. 4 court, 7-6, 6-2. Span dominated Nagy, 6-1, 6-1, on the No. 5 court, while Juan Varon took down Norman in straight-sets on the No. 6 court, 7-5, 6-4.
Head coach Cris James was impressed with his squad's competitive edge against Creighton.
"I thought we competed well, which is one of the things we always talk about," James said. "We're trying to stay sharp and trying to compete in every point, and our hard work paid off for us."
ISU takes on another conference foe, Drake, Sunday morning, and James believes the decision could go either way.
"I think because Sunday's match is on the road that it's basically a toss-up," James said. "It can go either way. It depends on who plays harder. We need to go in there and give it our best shot."
Sunday's match against Drake begins at 11 a.m. CST at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
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