NORMAL, Ill. – Coming off a 6-1 loss to the No. 38 Louisville Cardinals last Wednesday, the Illinois State men's tennis team will look to rebound and get back into the win column against No. 68 Western Michigan Friday afternoon in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
"Western Michigan just got into the national rankings, so we are excited to try and get a win at their place," said head coach Mark Klysner.
The Redbirds (4-4) were winners of their last three matches until traveling to Louisville to take on the Cardinals. Freshman Christoffer Greve was the only ISU player with a singles win in the match, while the team's strongest doubles duo, juniors Jakub Eisner and Rolando Torrellas, won their fourth-straight doubles bout, beating UL's Sebastian Stiefelmey and Van Damrongsri, 6-4.
Junior Rodrigo Oliveira, sophomore Dylan Steffens and freshman Andreas Boers all played close singles matches in Louisville but were unable to record a win. Steffens and Boers also took UL's Luis Elizondo and Pally Ray down to the wire, but the pair was edged out in doubles, 7-6.
Klysner said after the team's most recent win, a 6-1 victory over Eastern Illinois, some of the players were batting sickness. Given the 10 day layoff, however, Klysner expects his squad to come out strong Friday against the Broncos.
"We've had a good week of practice and a couple of the guys had time to get healthy, so I expect to have a great match with a team we beat last year but played real close," said Klysner.
Friday's match is set to begin at 1 p.m. CST on the West Hills Athletic Club courts in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
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