Jan. 5, 2012
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State men's tennis standouts Alexander Pelaez and Tuomas Manner have been ranked No. 34 in the nation and No. 7 in the Midwest region in doubles play by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Pelaez's accomplishments in the fall awarded him with a No. 20 ranking in the Midwest in singles play, as well.
Pelaez and Manner are the fifth different nationally-ranked doubles team Illinois State has produced in the last five years. Illinois State head coach Cris James is proud of his doubles duo for their national ranking.
"We kind of threw them together in the fall and we didn't really know how they would preform," said James. "They went on a pretty impressive run which was, in some ways, a little bit unexpected."
Pelaez and Manner won 9-of-13 matches in doubles play in the fall. Their highest achievement was their placement in the quarterfinal round of doubles play in the ITA Regional Tournament.
James is confident Pelaez and Manner's success as a doubles team will continue in spring season.
"I know those guys have a lot of confidence playing together now and hopefully they will be able to lead our team this spring in doubles," said James.
The Redbirds will begin their spring season, Jan. 15, against Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
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