March 12, 2014
MOBILE, Ala. -
After five-consecutive away-matches, the Illinois State men's tennis team (5-5) remains on the road for a pair of contests at South Alabama (10-5) and versus No. 64 Buffalo (8-4) in Gulf Shores, Ala., this Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Following a four-match winning streak, the Redbirds are aiming to bounce back after dropping two-straight to nationally-ranked foes No. 61 Indiana and No. 29 Louisville. Friday's meeting with No. 64 Buffalo marks ISU's fourth top-75 opponent of the season.
"We've had a good week down here in Alabama preparing for these two matches," Illinois State head coach Mark Klysner said. "It's just two more tough tests, including nationally-ranked Buffalo. A couple of wins, and we might find ourselves where we want to be, in the top-75."
Thursday's 10 a.m. CST match at South Alabama marks the seventh all-time meeting between the Redbirds and the Jaguars, with ISU earning a 4-2 record versus USA throughout a series dating back to 1966-67. The two teams last met in 2009-10, with the Redbirds claiming a 5-2 victory. Meanwhile, ISU and Buffalo are facing each other for the first time Friday.
The Illinois State doubles duo of Jakub Eisner and Rolando Torrellas will try to build off of their No. 1 doubles victory over No. 29 Louisville's Seb Stiefelmeyer and Van Damrongsri in last week's match against the Cardinals.
ISU is in the midst of a season-long 11-match road stretch which started Feb. 21 at St. John's.
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