NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's tennis team will look to extend its winning streak to three-straight matches Saturday when the Redbirds take on conference foe Southern Illinois at 11 a.m. on the Gregory Street Tennis Courts.
"This weekend is very important for us so we can get a good seeding in the conference tournament," said head coach Mark Klysner. "Even though we beat SIU last weekend, it's important that we come out with the same intensity and focus and try and start strong in the doubles."
Despite only having six healthy players on its roster, Illinois State (8-10, 0-1) is coming off back-to-back wins over Binghamton University and Southern Illinois last weekend at the MTSU Shootout. Freshman Christoffer Greve led the way for the Redbirds, securing his ninth and tenth victories on the season, good for the team lead. Greve also recorded his seventh straight win over the weekend in Tennessee.
Junior Rolando Torrellas also played well at the MTSU Shootout, closing out the weekend with two straight doubles victories, while sophomore Dylan Steffens is going into Saturday riding a two match win streak.
After being in the same position last year, Klysner hopes the experience his squad has will produce a different result this time around.
"We were in this situation last year after beating them a week earlier. We lost a tight one and the guys are aware of this, so we will be ready for this Saturday," said Klysner. "As it stands now, we will still be with the same six guys with maybe [Muddappa Appanervanda] being able to play. That will make us a little stronger than last weekend."
Following Saturday's contest, Illinois State's next match will be another conference home bout, this time against Wichita State. That match is slated for an 11 a.m. start time, Saturday, April 11.
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