INDIANAPOLIS – The Illinois State women's tennis team defeated Butler, 4-3, Friday afternoon to improve to 2-1.
"I was happy with how we started today, winning all three doubles matches and getting off to a great start in singles," said Illinois State head coach Maja Kovacek. "I have to give Butler a lot of credit for competing really hard. They played better as the day went on, and the momentum completely swung their way about halfway into singles. We did not handle that well in a few spots and were down, 2-3, with Valerija Gercar and Andrea Beneroso in a must-win situation.
"I'm really proud of how they handled it. Both of their matches were close, the atmosphere was great, and they were able to step in and play more aggressive than their opponents. It was a great team win."
The Redbirds dominated in doubles play, winning all three matches for the doubles point. Marcia Tere-Apisah and Jelena Karla Vujicic defeated Butler's Bailey Padgett and Rachel Sutton, 6-1. Partners Jana Kustkova and Gabriela Sprague defeated Jocelyn Koester and Kailey Eaton, 6-2. The third Redbird pair, Gercar and Beneroso, took down Butler's Lauryn Padgett and Nina Bertino, 6-2.
In singles competition Illinois State went 3-3. Tere-Apisah fought hard but was defeated in No. 1 singles by Bailey Padgett, 7-5, 6-1. Vujicic battled and defeated opponent Rachel Sutton in two sets, 7-5, 6-2. Kustkova was defeated by Jocelyn Koester after a close tiebreaker, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Sprague also went into a tiebreaker match but could not pull off the win, as she was defeated by Kailey Eaton, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. Gercar came out on top with a win over Lauryn Padgett, 7-6(4), 6-5, retire. As a freshman, Beneroso recorded her first singles victory by defeating Butler's Nina Bertino in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6.
Illinois State will take the night to rest and will be back in action Saturday at Ball State (2-1) at 3 p.m. CT.
For live updates and more, follow Redbird Women's Tennis on Twitter: @RedbirdWTEN.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
###