SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Three Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championship titles were claimed by the Illinois State women's tennis team Sunday at the Velasco Tennis Center. The Redbirds earned the Flight 1 and Flight 2 doubles titles and the Flight 7 singles championship.
ISU's doubles teams won two-out-of-three titles at the MVC Individual Championship, marking the Redbirds' most doubles titles at the league's individual tournament since 2009. Illinois State's three overall titles is the most for ISU since also winning three in 2013, as the Redbirds combined for an 18-7 overall record during the three-day tournament.
In the Flight 1 Doubles final, Kadi Ilves and Marcia Tere-Apisah topped Drake's Adrienne Jensen and Maddie Johnson, 8-1, to win the Flight 1 Doubles championship. Ilves and Tere-Apisah finished the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record, marking the second weekend in a row that the Redbird duo has won the top flight's championship.
In the Flight 2 Doubles final, ISU twosome Veronika Golanova and Jana Kustkova won the Flight 2 Doubles championship by defeating Luca Pump and Tanaporn Thongsing of Wichita State, 8-3. Golanova and Kustkova went undefeated in doubles play, finishing the weekend with a 3-0 record.
In the Flight 3 Doubles third-place match, Chanel Scudiero and Catherine Shulman bested Wichita State's Summer Schlotterback and Whitley Quan, 8-7, (7-3), to finish third overall in the Flight 3 Doubles bracket.
For the second week in a row Valerija Gercar brought home a championship title. In the Flight 7 Singles final, Gercar topped Bradley's Ashley Thai in two matches, 6-2, 6-1, to win the Flight 7 Singles championship.
In Flight 2 Singles, Golanova defeated Bradley's Alejandra de Lasa, 6-2, 6-1, to finish third. Tere-Apisah and Scudiero fell in the Flight 1 and Flight 4 championship matches, respectively.
With the MVC Individual Championship complete, the Redbirds will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, in three weeks to compete in the Drake Jamboree, Oct. 23-25, which will be ISU's final tournament of the fall.
Illinois State Results
Flight 1 Doubles
Kadi Ilves/Marcia Tere-Apisah (Illinois State) def. Adrienne Jensen/Maddie Johnson (Drake), 8-1, to win the title
Flight 2 Doubles
Veronika Golanova/Jana Kustkova (Illinois State) def. Luca Pump/Tanaporn Thongsing (Wichita State), 8-3, to win the title
Flights 3 Doubles
Chanel Scudiero/Catherine Shulman (Illinois State) def. Summer Schlotterback/Whitley Quan (Wichita State), 8-7. (7-3), to earn third place
Flight 1 Singles
Abby Stevens (Wichita State) def. Marcia Tere-Apisah (Illinois State), 6-4, 6-2, in the championship match
Flight 2 Singles
Veronika Golanova def. Alejandra de Lasa (Bradley), 6-2, 6-1, to earn third place
Flight 4 Singles
Luca Pump (Wichita State) def. Chanel Scudiero (Illinois State), 6-1, 6-1, in the championship match
Flights 7 Singles
Valerija Gercar (Illinois State) def. Ashley Thai (Bradley), 6-2, 6-1, to win the title
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