LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Illinois State men's tennis team dropped its first match in nearly a month, losing to No. 42 Louisville Wednesday afternoon, 6-1.
"I was really happy with how we competed today," said head coach Mark Klysner. "We were a couple points from taking the doubles point. Singles was a battle, and again, we had good energy out there."
Despite the score, the Redbirds (4-4) played the Cardinals (7-2) close the entire match. In the first doubles flights, juniors Jakub Eisner and Rolando Torrellas won their fourth-straight match, defeating Louisville duo Sebastian Stiefelmeyer and Van Domrongsi, 6-4. Underclassmen Dylan Steffens and Andreas Boers were one point away from clinching the No. 3 flight and doubles point, but lost a tough set to the Cardinals' Luis Elizondo and Pally Ray, 7-6.
Singles play showcased some impressive performances, especially from freshman Christoffer Greve who won his second match of the season in the No. 6 flight, a straight-set victory over Stjepan Cagalj, 6-4, 6-3. The Redbirds, however, failed to tally another singles win on the afternoon and were unable to walk away with the victory over the Cardinals.
"[I am] super happy for Chris and pulling out a straight-set win over a highly ranked freshman," said Klysner. "We definitely had our chances to maybe pull off the upset."
After two matches in less than four days, the Redbirds will not play again until Friday, Feb. 27 when they travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan to take on Western Michigan. That match is slated to start at 1 p.m. CST.
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