Results
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team concluded its 2016-17 spring season Friday afternoon when the Redbirds fell to Bradley, 4-3, in the Missouri Valley Conference Team Tennis Championships, held at the Bloomington Tennis Center.
The Redbirds could not play No. 6 singles or No. 3 doubles due to injury, thus starting the match trailing, 1-0. However, Illinois State came from behind to win the other two doubles matches, securing the doubles point. No. 1 Redbird pair Marcia Tere-Apisah and Jelena Karla Vujicic finished first with a 6-3 victory over Ashley Thai and Natalia Barbery. Not long after the first flight finished, Illinois State's Valerija Gercar and Gabriela Sprague secured the doubles point for their team by taking down Ariel Dechter and Aimee Manfredo, 6-2.
In singles play, the Redbirds kept even with the Braves right until the end. Freshmen Sprague and Vujicic both took home wins. Vujicic finished first with a two-set takedown of Alejandra de Lasa, 6-2, 6-0, while Sprauge finished third, with her 6-2, 6-2 victory over Barbery. Jana Kustkova competed for the first time since a femur injury kept her off the courts. She completed two full sets against Malini Wijesinghe, but came up short, 6-4, 6-1. In the No. 1 spot, Tere-Apisah fell to Dechter in two sets, 7-5, 6-3. With the score tied at 3-3, Gercar fell to Alexa Brandt, 6-2, 7-5, in the end.
The Redbirds finished their season, 11-12 (5-3 MVC), the best season they have had since 2012. The team will bid farewell to lone senior, Tere-Apisah, and will look to build off this season and be back ready to compete in the fall of 2017.
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