RESULTS
NORMAL, Ill. –The Illinois State women's tennis team (10-7) triumphed over Bradley (9-9) in its Missouri Valley Conference opener to win, 5-2 Saturday evening at the Evergreen Racquet Club.
"We played out the longest and closest doubles match of the season this evening," said head coach Maja Kovacek. "We had opportunities to finish it earlier, but it came down to the wire at No. 3 doubles. The win there gave us momentum for singles play, and we did a great job not allowing our opponents to get back into the matches. It was unfortunate that Veronika (Golanova) had to default due to injury and that Valerija's (Gercar) comeback in the second set fell just short. Overall, it was a good win for us and a great way to open MVC competition."
For the second time this weekend the Redbirds clinched the doubles point to head into singles play with the one point advantage. Marcia Tere-Apisah and Veronika Golanova led the Redbirds to the first doubles win of the evening with a, 6-3 victory over Bradley's Ashley Thai and Alexa Brandt. The doubles win over Bradley marks Tere-Apisah and Golanova's eighth win as a No. 1 doubles team. With Kadi Ilves and Sarah Paulson falling in a tight match, 6-7 against Ariel Dechter and Aimee Manfredo of Bradley, the Redbirds needed a win in No. 3 doubles to help them clinch the doubles point. In a back-and-forth match that led to a tie breaker Jana Kustkova and Catherine Shulman came out on top winning over Malini Wijesinghe and Alejandra de Lasa, 7-6.
ISU carried its momentum right into singles picking up four-straight victories in singles play to clinch the Redbird victory. Tere-Apisah wasted no time in No. 2 singles, defeating de Lasa in two quick sets, 6-1, 6-0. From there, Shulman got ahead of Manfredo early in No. 5 singles to win, 6-1, 6-1. Following Shulman's match, Ilves clinched the win by topping Thai in No. 4 singles, 6-2, 6-3. Kustkova earned the fourth and final victory for the Redbirds when she bested Alexa Brandt in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
With the win over Bradley, ISU improves to 10-7 overall, 1-0 in the MVC, and 7-1 at home. Tere-Apisah also picked up her 12th singles win of the season.
The Redbirds remain at home next weekend as they return to the courts to face Missouri Valley Conference opponents, Southern Illinois Friday (April 8) and Evansville Saturday (April 9). Friday's match is scheduled to be held at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Illinois, while Saturday's match is scheduled to be played outside at the Gregory Street Tennis Courts. Both matches are slated to begin at 1 p.m. Admission is free. Stayed tuned to the women's tennis team's Twitter account and GoRedbirds.com for updates on potential location changed due to weather. For updates on ISU women's tennis, follow them on Twitter: @RedbirdWTEN.
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