NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis schedule – highlighted by 12 home dual matches and two tournaments, including the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships – was released by head coach Maja Kovacek Wednesday.
Illinois State will open its 2017 tournament season at the Bradley Invitational Sept. 22-24. The team will then host the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships, before traveling to the ITA Midwest Regionals and returning home for the Redbird Duals.
"It's always great when our players get a chance to play in front of a home crowd, and that doesn't happen often in the fall season," Kovacek said. "That's why we are really excited about this one because we are hosting two events: The MVC Individual Championships, which is the focus of every fall season, and the Redbird Duals with Saint Louis, Eastern Illinois and Butler coming to play a hidden dual format."
The completion of the Bradley Invitational leads the Redbirds into their first home tournament, the MVC Individual Championships Oct. 7-9. Following the MVC Individual Championships, the team takes off for the ITA Midwest Regionals in Ann Harbor, Michigan Oct. 12-17. To finish off their tournament season, the Redbirds come home to face off in the Redbird Duals Oct. 20-21.
The Redbirds will start their dual season with two home matches. ISU will host Eastern Illinois Jan. 20 and Ball state Jan. 21. The team's first away match will be held at Chicago State on Feb. 3. After returning to campus from Chicago State, the team has four home matches: Iowa State Feb. 4, Northern Illinois Feb. 10, Missouri Saint Louis Feb. 17, and Western Illinois Feb. 17. Over the next 11 matches, two will be played at home on March 10 against Butler and March 21 against Murray State. Over the course of 22 days, the team will travel to Dayton, Ohio, Lincoln, Nebraska, Chicago, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle.
The Redbirds then return to Normal to begin Missouri Valley Conference play on March 31 against Bradley and April 8 versus Missouri State. Illinois State will face Drake and Northern Iowa on the road for its third and fourth MVC matches. After returning home, the team will finish with two MVC matches against Valparaiso and Evansville, followed by the MVC Team Championships in Springfield, Missouri, April 27-29.
The ISU women's tennis team welcomes back two seniors: Veronika Golanova and Valerija Gercar. Alongside the two seniors, other returners include, junior Jana Kustkova and sophomore Jelena Karla Vujicic. The Redbirds have added two freshmen to the team, Ivon Mihaleva and Laura Fitzgerald. Last season, Illinois State finished tied for second in the regular-season MVC standings with a 5-2 record.
Illinois State plays its home matches outdoors at the Gregory Street Tennis Courts, and indoors at the Bloomington Tennis Center depending on weather. Admission is free to all Redbird tennis matches.
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