NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team dropped a hard-fought 4-1 match to Toledo in the championship round of the Redbird invitational, claiming second place on Sunday, Feb. 24.
Toledo started off strong, stealing the doubles point with quick wins in No. 2 and No. 3 slots. Freshman Tara Damnjanovic tried to ignite the comeback in the singles round, defeating Eileen Carney 7-5, 6-3 in the No. 2 spot, but Toledo claimed the rest of the matchups to capture the 4-1 win.
Redbirds Scoring Breakdown:
Singles competition
1. Veronika Golanova (ILST) vs. Dee Dee Leenabanchong (TOL) 6-1, 3-6, 4-3 DNF
2. Tara Damnjanovic (ILST) def. Eileen Carney (TOL) 7-5, 6-3
3. Kokoro Chishaki (TOL) def. Jana Kustkova (ILST) 6-3, 6-1,
4. Christina Fuller (TOL) def. Natalia Bravo (ILST) 6-4, 6-4
5. Laura Fitzgerald (ILST) vs. Kiersten Carlson (TOL) 7-6, 3-6 DNF
6. Thalita Rodrigues (TOL) def. Estelle Vanthier (ILST) 6-1, 7-6
Doubles competition
1. Veronika Golanova/Jana Kustkova (ILST) vs. Dee Dee Leenabanchong/Kokoro Chishaki (TOL) 3-4 DNF
2. Kiersten Carlson/Thalita Rodrigues (TOL) def. Tara Damnjanovic/Natalia Bravo (ILST) 6-1
3. Eileen Carney/Christina Fuller (TOL) def. Laura Fitzgerald/Ivon Mihaleva (ILST) 6-3
Thoughts from Coach Maja Kovacek:
"They're a tough team, they came out playing great doubles and carried that momentum to singles. It took us just a little too long to get going and we fell short of a comeback."
Up Next: The Redbirds are back in action against Akron at home on Thursday, Feb. 28.
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