NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State men's tennis will commence their fall season at the WMU Invitational Friday, Sept. 21 to Sunday. Sept. 23 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
"This is always one of my favorite tournaments of the year as we have had a lot of success at this tournament over the years, and it is always filled with some high level schools," head coach Mark Klysner said.
The tournament is set to begin Friday at 2:30 p.m. on the Sorensen Courts, weather permitting. The tournament will include three rounds of both singles and doubles.
Last season, the 'Birds went 2-3 in conference play, and finished out the spring with an impressive 10-2 home record.
"We have some new guys on the team, so I am anxious to see how they compete this weekend and most of all just excited for our freshmen to get their first college matches under their belt," Klysner said.
Illinois State added three names to the 2018-19 roster. Junior Jorge Adair Bartra Quispe, freshman Diego Emilio Moura Herrera and freshman Zacarias Rankloo Rasmusson will begin their Redbird careers at the WMU/Vredevelt Invite.
"For the rest of the guys, it is a good event to get some quality matches in and get an idea of where we are at this point of the fall season." Klysner said.
Last season, competing in the No. 4 spot of singles, Egehan Sertkaya concluded the dual season with a 10-8 record.
Igor Kolaric posted an 18-10 overall singles record for the 2017-18 season, which earned him Player of the Week recognition in dual play. The senior was recognized as the Summit League Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and given a spot on the Men's All-Summit Team.
With a 7-3 mark in his last 10 matchups, Pol Botifoll Rius finished at 14-6 after joining the Redbirds this spring.
Cameron Petersen and Brandon Lew finished 2-2, and 1-0 respectively. After a year of redshirting Diego Le Gal Perez will get on the court for the Redbirds.
To follow the WMU/Vredevelt Invitational, click here.
The Redbirds will return Saturday, Sept. 29 through Sunday, Sept. 30 to compete in the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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