EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Illinois State women's tennis team wrapped up the first day of the ITA Midwest Regional Tournament, going 4-2 in qualifying. Play will resume tomorrow, October 18.
Junior Laura Fitzgerald was a standout for the 'Birds, going 2-0 in singles play, defeating Marquette's Giulia Turconi 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, and Notre Dame's Maeve Koscielski 6-7, 6-4, 6-2. She will continue in the tournament tomorrow, facing off against No. 3 seed Shivani Ingle from Illinois.
"I had two hard battles, with both my matches going to three sets," Fitzgerald said. "I think I performed very well, and fought hard for every point. I hope I can play my best tomorrow and get another win to take me further in the tournament."
Sophomore Tara Damnjanovic and senior Natalia Bravo also played well in their matches today, with both Redbirds going 1-1. Damnjanovic took down Valparaiso's Olivia Czerwonka 6-3, 6-3, to advance in the tournament, but fell in her next match to No. 7 seed Marie Mayerova. Bravo fell in her first match of the tournament, but bounced back in her consolation match against Youngstown State's Tamara Teufl, winning the match 7-6 (0),7-6 (5).
"We played some good tennis today," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said about today's matches. "Laura really raised her game and got two big wins. I'm really proud of the way she is competing and representing the team."
The Redbirds will be back in action tomorrow and matches will be livestreamed at https://web.playsight.com/facility/michigan-state-university/home with results and brackets being updated throughout the day.
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