RESULTS
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Illinois State women's tennis team (13-10) fell to Drake (14-11) on the road, 6-1, in its regular-season finale Sunday afternoon at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center to finish with a 4-3 record, tied for third place, in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Despite close matches in No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, the Redbirds were unable to capture the doubles point over the Bulldogs. Marcia Tere-Apisah and Veronika Golanova came up short in No. 1 doubles, losing to Mariel Ante and Maddie Johnson, 6-4. Valerija Gercar and Jana Kustkova finished next in No. 3 doubles, falling to Tess Herder and Lea Kozulic, 6-2. To round out doubles action, Summer Brills and Joely Lomas overcame Kadi Ilves and Sarah Paulson in a tight No. 2 doubles match, 6-4.
To begin singles play, Johnson topped Tere-Apisah, 6-1, 6-1, in No. 2 singles. Soon after, Golanova recorded the first win of the afternoon for ISU in No. 1 singles when she defeated Ante, 6-3, 6-0, to earn her 15th singles victory of the spring season. Brills overcame Ilves in No. 4 singles, 6-1, 6-3, while Lomas triumphed over Chanel Scudiero in No. 5 singles, 6-4, 6-2. In No. 6 singles, Gercar fell short to Kozulic, 6-4, 6-4. Kustkova fought point-for-point with Herder in No. 3 singles, winning the first set, 7-6 (4), but then dropped the second set in a close match, 7-6 (4), to force a tie breaker set where she ultimately fell, 10-1.
To wrap up the 2015-16 season, the Redbirds will travel to Wichita State to compete in the MVC Team Championships April 29-May 1. ISU enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face Bradley in the first round Friday, April 29, at 11:30 a.m. For updates on ISU women's tennis, follow them on Twitter: @RedbirdWTEN.
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