PORTLAND, Ore. – The Illinois State men's tennis team began its west coast trip Saturday, with the Portland Pilots defeating the Redbirds, 5-2. The loss is the fourth straight for the Redbirds, since starting the season 4-3.
"Today was a tough match, and we really didn't play that well," said head coach Mark Klysner. "We had a slow start in doubles and just couldn't pick up our level in singles."
Illinois State (4-7, MVC 0-1) began the match losing two of the three doubles matches, with junior Rodrigo Oliveira and freshman Andreas Boers notching the squad's only doubles win in the No. 3 spot. Junior duo Jakub Eisner and Rolando Torrellas, who had won five straight matches together, have now drop the last two they have played.
The Redbirds battled in singles play, with Eisner securing his No. 1 singles victory, 6-4, over the Pilots' Steffen Dieauf. Freshman Christoffer Greve also continued his strong individual play on the campaign, rallying back to win the No. 5 singles point over Portland's Pierre Garcia, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
"Chris being down 5-2 in the third set and coming back to win 7-5 showed a lot of fight," said Klysner. "We're definitely looking to rebound and play a lot better on Monday versus Idaho."
The Redbirds next opportunity to get back to its winning ways will happen this Monday, as the squad travels to Seattle, Washington,to take on the Vandals of Idaho. That match is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start time, CST.
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