NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's tennis team defeated Northern Iowa, 4-0, in the first round of the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Team Tennis Championships at Gregory Street Tennis Courts Friday.
Competition began with double's play where Kadi Ilves and Heather Nisbet defeated Krissy Lankelma and Jordyn Kearney, 8-4, in Doubles No. 3, followed by a Redbird win at Doubles No. 1 to end the double's portion of competition and make the score 1-0, ISU. Phyllis Tigges and Madeliene Baillon defeated Jieke Stroobant and Erica Medlin in the No. 1 position continuing their five match winning streak from the regular season.
"The wind can make things challenging, and if you don't keep your cool, you can get a little flustered," head coach Chris Hoover said. "But I think once we settled down, we were able to play really well. I think being at home has definitely helped us today too. We played well today in the matches that did finish, and even in the ones that went unfinished, I think we were playing well."
In singles competition, the Redbirds secured three wins to record a 4-0 victory over the Panthers and advance into the second round of the championship. Singles No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6 were the three matches that finished to earn the remaining three Redbird points, while No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 ended unfinished.
First to finish was Ilves in the No. 6 position who beat Sydney Wolfe, 6-1, 6-1. Second was Tigges who defeated Stroobant, 6-3, 6-0, in the No. 1 position and freshman Sierra Stone earned the fourth and winning point for ISU, defeating Elvira Lopez , 6-4, 6-1, to secure the Redbird victory.Â
"Wichita State is the team to beat," Hoover said. "I know we've lost a couple of times to them in the championship rounds but that doesn't matter. I like taking on the challenge and playing the number one team. I think if we have another day like today, we'll have a good shot."
Next, ISU will face top-seeded Wichita State in the second round of the MVC Championships on Saturday, April 26 at 10 a.m. at Gregory Street Tennis Courts.
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