March 8, 2012
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's tennis team heads to Hawaii for spring break for four different matches, from March 12 to March 16. The Redbirds head into play after winning two of their last match-ups against Butler and Eastern Illinois.
The week prior to heading into play, freshman Emmie Marx was named Missouri Valley Conference Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career. Despite entering into her third month of play, Marx opened play against Eastern Illinois in the No. 2 position. She posted a 2-0 record against Illinois State's victories against Eastern Illinois (7-0) and Butler (6-1). Marx defeated Butler's Gabrielle Rubenstein, 6-2, 6-4, and Eastern Illinois' Merritt Whitley, 6-2, 6-0. On the season, she posts an overall record of 6-3, including a 4-3 record in the third flight.
"Emmie has been playing very well lately," said head coach Chris Hoover. "She improving each time she goes onto the courts, and has been working hard to become more mentally tough, point in and point out. She's slowly and steadily learning what it takes, and she's going to keep getting better and better."
The Redbirds have a full schedule, taking on four schools in six days. On Monday, ISU heads to Laie, HI to take on BYU Hawaii, with play set to begin at 6:00 p.m. CT. Tuesday, the Redbirds travel to the island of Waipahu to face Chaminade, hitting the courts at 4:00 p.m. CT. Illinois State finishes the trip in Honolulu, heading to the courts against University of Hawaii on March 15 at 3:30 p.m. CT and Hawaii-Pacific at 3:00 p.m. CT.
"The team is very excited to play," said Hoover. "It's a great trip. It will be long and hard playing tennis for four out of the six days we will be there. It'll be exciting, and a great chance for us to our outdoor tennis game together for the spring conference matches."
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