NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's tennis team is preparing to host the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Team Tennis Championships this weekend at Gregory Street Courts. Competition is slated to begin at 10 a.m. Friday, and will continue Saturday and Sunday.
The Redbird women (9-9, 2-4 MVC) finished the regular season in fifth with an MVC record of 2-4 behind Wichita State, Southern Illinois, Drake and Northern Iowa, respectively, and ahead of Evansville and Bradley, respectively. For their first match of the championships, No. 5 ISU will face No. 4 UNI on Friday, April 25 at 10 a.m. CT. The winner will advance to face No. 1 Wichita State on Saturday, April 26 at 10 a.m. CT. All matches are to be played outdoors at Gregory Street Courts, weather permitting.
During last year's championship competition hosted by Wichita State, the Redbird women beat Evansville, 4-0, in the first round before falling to top-seeded Wichita State in the semifinals round, 4-0. Wichita State went on to beat No. 2 SIU, 4-0, to claim the 2013 MVC Team Tennis Championship title.
The last time the Redbirds won the MVC championship was during the 2004-05 season when the Redbirds defeated the UNI Panthers, 4-0, in the finals. The Redbirds went on to fall, 4-0, to No. 7 UCLA during the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Live Scoring of the event will be available all weekend from the GoRedbirds.com Championship Central page. Also, be sure to follow @ISUWomensTennis and @ISUMensTennis on Twitter for live updates of the event as the championship progresses.
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