ST. LOUIS – All three pairs for the Illinois State men's tennis team won their respective doubles flights, as the Redbirds defeated America East Conference opponent Stony Brook, 4-2, in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship Friday morning.
With the victory, the Redbirds will advance to the second round of the MVC Championship Tournament, where they will take on top-seeded, and No. 31 ranked Drake. That match is slated for a 10 a.m. start Saturday in St. Louis.
"Today was a good win for us," said head coach Mark Klysner. "Getting the doubles point was a key in getting that early lead. It's always hard to play a team you know nothing about and getting an early lead was nice."
Junior duo Jakub Eisner and Rolando Torrellas notched their ninth doubles victory this spring with an 8-5 win over the Seawolves' Alex Felisa and Jose Morales in the No. 1 flight. Sophomore Dylan Steffens and freshman Christoffer Greve also added a win to their doubles record with an 8-3 win over SBU's Raphael Termat and Kenzo Kauffmann in the second flight. In only the duo's third pairing this spring, seniors Muddappa Appanervanda and Jacob Wilson recorded their first victory together over Stony Brook's Tyler Hoffman and Vini Degani, 8-6.
Illinois State (10-11) put Stony Brook (5-8) away in singles competition, securing three of the five flights finished. Both Steffens and Appanervanda tallied straight-set victories in the No. 5 and 6 flights, respectively, while Torrellas sealed the Redbird win with a thrilling, three-set victory over SBU's Jose Morales in the No. 3 flight. Eisner dropped his No. 1 flight to Raphael Termat, 6-3, 6-1, while Wilson lost his No. 2 flight to Alex Felisa of Stony Brook, 7-6, 6-2.
"Singles was a good battle," said Klysner. "We played well in the bottom of our lineup, including a nice win at [the No. 6 flight] for Appanervanda. Torrellas clinched the match for us at the No. 3 flight, and so now, we are excited to play again tomorrow in the semi-finals against No. 31 Drake."
NOTES
The match against Stony Brook marked the first time since March 29 that Illinois State won the doubles point, and only the second time in seven matches.
Since winning eight-straight singles matches, Greve has not won a singles bout. In his last two contests, he was defeated in straight-sets, and his flight went unfinished today.
With the victory, the Redbirds have won four of their last five matches.
Illinois State is in search of its first win over Drake since the 2009-10 season. The Redbirds are also looking to advance to the championship match of the MVC Tournament for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
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