Undefeated Redbirds to Face Eastern Illinois and Chicago State

NORMAL, Ill. – The undefeated Illinois State women's tennis team (2-0) looks to go 3-0 in front of a home crowd Saturday against Eastern Illinois and then will travel north Sunday for its first road match of the season against Chicago State.

Saturday's contest against Eastern Illinois will take place at 3 p.m. at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Illinois. The Redbirds will then travel to Homewood, Illinois, to face Chicago State Sunday at the H-F Racquet and Fitness Club, with match play set to begin at 9 a.m.

"We are spending a lot of time on individual work this week in order to prepare for Eastern Illinois and Chicago State," said head coach Maja Kovacek. "This week, we will need to raise our game in singles and play more consistent tennis."

By winning its Jan. 29 matchup against Southeast Missouri State and Jan. 31 match against Western Illinois, the Illinois State women's tennis team is off to a 2-0 start. Freshman Jana Kustkova, went a perfect 2-0 in both doubles and singles action during the weekend's matchups, defeating both of her singles opponents in straight sets. Kustkova was not the only Redbird to find success on the courts, as five other ISU players went undefeated for the weekend including: Valerija Gercar, Veronika Golanova, Kadi Ilves, Sarah Paulson and Marcia Tere-Apisah. 

Saturday's matchup marks the 10th time in 11 seasons that ISU and Eastern Illinois have met on the courts. Dating back to 2006-07, the Redbirds are 7-2 against the Panthers. Eastern Illinois has started off the season, 2-1, suffering a season-opening loss to Big Ten opponent, Illinois. In the weeks following, the Panthers swept both Butler and Western Illinois, 7-0.   

When the Redbirds face Chicago State Sunday morning, it will be the first time under head coach, Maja Kovacek. The Cougars are 0-3 to start the spring season, losing to the University of Chicago, Oakland and Southeast Missouri State. Before facing Illinois State on Sunday, Chicago State will first take on SIU Edwardsville Saturday afternoon.

After their red-hot opening weekend, the Redbirds enter this weekend's matches 6-0 in doubles, 11-1 in singles and 2-0 overall. Illinois State has the opportunity to go 3-0 in front of its home crowd Saturday against Eastern Illinois for the first time since 2006-07. If ISU earns a win on Saturday, the team has the chance to improve to 4-0 for the first time in program history during the spring season, and the first time overall since 1990-91 when the Redbirds went 4-0 to open the fall season.

Saturday's match will take place at the Evergreen Racquet Club, and admission is free. The Redbirds will then head north to Homewood, Illinois, to play Chicago State at the H-F Racquet and Fitness Club. For updates on ISU women's tennis throughout the weekend, follow them on Twitter: @RedbirdWTEN. 

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