Sept. 11, 2011
PEORIA, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds, led by Aniko Kiss, went almost undefeated on day three of the Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational on the Markin Tennis Courts in Peoria, Ill. The team finished the day strong by winning eight out of nine matches Sunday.
"I think all in all it was a good start to the season," said head coach Chris Hoover. "For the most part, if we weren't winning, we were getting beat by strong opponents. A lot of the student athletes have stepped up. Stefanie Youngbergdid a good job in that regard. She stepped up and played well."
The day started with doubles, and the Redbirds beat every opponent they came up against. Kiss and partner Phyllis Tigges defeated opponents Alejandra Gamboa and Anastasia Khabirova from Robert Morris, 8-1. Heather Nisbet and Hannah Esker also overpowered Stephanie Messina and Ana Kostic from Robert Morris, 8-1, as Youngberg and Gabby Phillipsfinished tournament play with a bye.
Kiss beat Sarah Rodefeld of Bradley, 6-0, 6-1, and finished the tournament undefeated in both doubles and singles. Tigges beat Cassia Wojtalik of Bradley, 6-2, 6-0, while Esker beat Elizabeth Przystawski of Braldey, 6-2, 6-3.
Youngberg continued to stay undefeated in singles by defeating Ruta Grinvalde of Chicago State, 6-4, 7-5. Phillips also won her match, topping Stephanie Messina of Robert Morris, 6-1, 6-0. Ashton Nisbetposted the only loss of the day to Veronika Makashov of South Dakota, 6-0, 6-0.
Hoover is excited to see where the year will take the team.
"That was a pretty good for the first weekend, and hopefully we can build on it and take home a championship," Hoover said.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
