PEORIA, Ill. – The Illinois State men's tennis team defeated Stony Brook, 4-3, in a hard-fought match Friday afternoon at the Clubs at River City. The Redbirds advance to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Team Tennis Championships.
"I can't be more proud of the guys right now," said head coach Mark Klysner. "We've had a really mentally tough season up to this point, and for the guys to come back after losing the doubles point, showed a lot of character and grit in these guys. It was an even greater moment for Egehan to come back and clinch the win in the third set. We do want to tip our hats to the effort and fight from Stony Brook who played hard and showed a lot of class."
Stony Brook claimed the doubles point as Rodrigo Haldich and Tyler Hoffman defeated Urh Krajnc Domiter and Matias Chomali, 6-2. Andreas Boers and Egehan Sertkaya fell to Samuel Taieb and Raphael Termat, 6-4. Dylan Steffens and Christoffer Greve competed against Hari Rohan and Finn Kemper in an unfinished match.
In singles, the Redbirds fought until the final set and earned the win. Raphael Termat defeated Krajnc Domiter, 6-1, 6-3. Steffens topped Samuel Taieb, 6-1, 6-0. Boers beat Rodrigo Haldich, 6-2, 6-2. Chomali fell to Tyler Hoffman, 7-5, 6-1. Greve toppled Hari Rohan, 7-6, 6-2. Sertkaya clinched the match by defeating Finn Kemper in a three set match, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The Redbirds will advance to the semifinals of the MVC Team Championships where they will compete against Drake. Saturday's match will take place indoors at the Bloomington Tennis Center at 11 a.m. To stay up to date on the Illinois State men's tennis team, follow them on Twitter: @RedbirdMTEN.
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