WATERLOO, Iowa – The Illinois State women's tennis team finished the second day of the MVC Individual Championship, with the squad going 3-4 in singles play and 1-2 in doubles play.
Junior Ivon Mihaleva and freshman Elana Jankulovska were the first in the win column for the 'Birds, taking down Bradley's Marjanovic/Sanchez-Bronzetti 8-6. Junior Natalia Bravo took down Drake's Maria Tatarnikova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in flight three, and senior Laura Arciniegas defeated Missouri State's Claire Martin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in flight five. Mihaleva rounded out the win column for the Redbirds, securing a win over Stoney Brook's Mia Wong 6-3, 6-4 in flight six.
"As my first fall tournament for the year, I felt nervous going on the court but managed to bring my confidence back and come out with wins in both singles and doubles," said Mihaleva after her wins. "I am very excited for the final matches tomorrow and I hope that me and my teammates will be able to finish this tournament on a positive note."
Those three Redbirds and the doubles squad will be playing for the championship spot in their respective flights. Sophomore Tara Damnjanovic, junior Laura Fitzgerald and freshman Elana Jankulovska will play for third place in their brackets tomorrow, after falling in their matches Saturday.
"We had another strong showing in singles and in a few matches that didn't go our way, we played well and were competitive," Coach Maja Kovacek said. "I'm seeing a lot of improvement just from the last tournament and that's always our goal in the fall."
Play will resume tomorrow and results will be added day to day at http://mvc-sports.com/sports/2019/9/9/19InTenChamp.aspx
