TULSA, Oklahoma – The Illinois State men's tennis team dropped its first two matches of the spring season to Tulsa on Thursday. The Redbirds lost both matches by the same score, 4-0.
"We played a pretty tough team today," said head coach Mark Klysner. "The results maybe weren't what we had hoped, but the matches were a lot closer than the scores indicated."
The Redbirds (0-2) contended for both doubles points, with juniors Jakub Eisner and Rolando Torrellas losing a close one in the first match to Tulsa's (2-0) Dylan McCloskey and Or Ram-Harel, 7-5. Senior Muddappa Appanervanda and junior Rodrigo Oliveira followed with a 6-4 victory to tie the contest, but Alejandro Espejo and Carlos Bautista picked up the point with a win over sophomore Urh Krajnc Domiter and freshman Andreas Boers, 6-2. Illinois State also fought for the doubles point in the second match, but was eventually swept by scores of 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.
The Redbirds struggled in singles play as well Thursday. In the first match, senior Jacob Wilson, Domiter and Eisner were all swept in straight sets. Domiter also lost in singles play during the second match to Ram-Harel, 6-0, 6-2, while Matthew Kirby beat Wilson, 6-0, 6-1, and Pritchard defeated Boers, 6-2, 6-3.
"Doubles looked a lot better than in the past," said Klysner. "We just need some more matches under out belt to get more comfortable on the court. We'll look forward to playing again Saturday."
The Redbirds will be back in action this Saturday in Tulsa to take on Oral Roberts.
Results (1-15-15)
First Match
Doubles
McCloskey/Ram-Harel (TUL) def. Eisner/Torrellas (ISU) 7-5
Kirby/Pritchard (TUL) def. Appanervanda/Oliveira (ISU) 6-4
Espejo/Bautista (TUL) def. Krajnc/Boers (ISU) 6-2
Singles
Espejo (TUL) def. Krajnc (ISU) 6-1, 6-2
Ram-Harel (TUL) def. Eisner (ISU) 6-0, 6-1
McCloskey (TUL) def. Wilson (ISU) 6-2, 6-0
Second Match
Doubles
Espejo/Bautista (TUL) def. Eisner/Torrellas (ISU) 6-3
McCloskey/Ram-Harel (TUL) def. Appanervanda/Oliveira (ISU)Â 6-1
Kirby/Pritchard (TUL) def. Krajnc/Boers (ISU) 6-2
Singles
Ram-Harel (TUL) def. Krajnc (ISU) 6-0, 6-2
Kirby (TUL) def. Wilson (ISU) 6-0, 6-1
Pritchard (TUL) def. Boers (ISU) 6-2, 6-3
GoRedbirds.com:Â Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
