NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team (5-1) returns home to the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Illinois, this weekend to face off against Indianapolis and Butler.
The Redbirds open the weekend against Indianapolis Saturday at 3 p.m. and conclude the weekend with a match against Butler Sunday at 1 p.m.
"This week we are focusing on a few very specific things in our doubles game," said head coach Maja Kovacek. "I'm looking to see our players apply those things in matches this weekend and secure the doubles point."
In Iowa City, Iowa, last weekend, ISU split its doubleheader between UMKC and Iowa. The Redbirds extended their winning streak to five Saturday afternoon after sweeping UMKC, 4-0. For the fifth-straight match ISU opened play against UMKC by winning the doubles point. Sophomore Veronika Golanova teamed up with Jana Kustkova in No. 2 doubles to sweep UMKC's Allie Schulte and Mariam Kurasbediani, 6-0. In No. 2 singles, Golanova solidified the Redbird victory by defeating UMKC's Dimitra Stavrianakou in straight sets 6-2, 6-0. With her singles victory against UMKC, Golanova improved to 4-1 on the season in singles. The win against UMKC helped ISU improve to a perfect 5-0 for the first time in team history; however, despite a hard fought battle, the Redbirds later fell to Iowa, 4-0 in part two of their doubleheader, to give the Redbirds a 5-1 overall record on the season.
Over the last two seasons, ISU is 2-0 against Indianapolis. The Redbirds defeated the Greyhounds, 5-4 last season and 7-2, during the 2013-14 season. Indianapolis is 1-3 to start the season. In their last time out, the Greyhounds suffered losses from both Butler and Southern Illinois. Indianapolis' lone win of the season was earned during its season opener against IUPUI back on Feb. 5.
Sunday's matchup against Butler marks the 16th time since 1988-89 that the Redbirds and Bulldogs have faced each other. ISU is 15-1 overall against Butler. The Bulldogs are 1-9 on the season and 0-3 at away matches. Butler's only victory came against Indianapolis this past weekend. Â
Through its first six matches, the Redbirds are 24-6 in singles, 13-3 in doubles and 5-1 overall.
Both of this weekend's matches will be held at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Illinois, and admission is free. There will be free sandwiches for fans at Saturday's contest and free doughnuts available during Sunday's match. For updates on ISU women's tennis throughout the weekend, follow them on Twitter: @RedbirdWTEN.Â
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