Murfreesboro, Tenn. – The Illinois State men's tennis team notched its eight victory of the season Sunday afternoon, as the Redbirds defeated conference foe Southern Illinois, 4-2, to wrap up play at the MTSU Shootout.
Freshman Christoffer Greve extended his singles winning streak to seven-straight matches, while junior Rolando Torrellas and sophomore Dylan Steffens also recorded singles victories for ISU.
"We ended the weekend in a nice way by playing some solid doubles and carrying that momentum into singles," said head coach Mark Klysner. "We came down with six healthy players and won two out of three matches, so I think that is a great accomplishment."
Illinois State (8-10) began Sunday by winning the doubles point for the first time in four matches. Torrellas and junior partner Jakub Eisner got back to their winning ways, defeating the Salukis' Michal Kianicka and Alex Pozo, 6-4. Steffens and Greve also paired up for a doubles win over SIU's Daniel Martinez and Ransom Braaten, 6-1.
The Redbirds sealed the match with three wins in singles play. Greve secured his team-leading tenth victory, a straight-set win over Southern Illinois' Peter Molloy, 6-2, 6-2, while Steffens also notched a straight-set win over SIU's Pozo, 6-4, 6-3. Torrellas battled back in his No. 3 flight to beat the Salukis' Martinez, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
"We will try and get healthy this week and be ready for a rematch with SIU again next weekend," said Klysner.
The Redbirds' next match will be a home Missouri Valley Conference bout against the same Salukis on Saturday, April 4, at 11 a.m., at the Gregory Street Tennis Courts.
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