PEORIA, Ill. – The Illinois State Women's tennis team defeated conference foe Bradley 4-3, improving to a 13-6, 1-0 MVC record.
Bradley took control of the board by taking the doubles point. It was all about the Redbirds after that. Senior Veronika Golanovadefeated Sandra Maletin 6-3, 6-2 to put the 'Birds on the board. Sophomore Ivon Mihaleva and junior Natalia Bravo also collected wins to boost the 'Birds. Laura Fitzgerald clinched the match for ISU, downing Nikki Perlwitz 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Redbirds Scoring Breakdown:
Singles competition
1. Veronika Golanova (ISU) def. Sandra Maletin (BU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Bozana Lojpur (BU) def. Tara Damnjanovic (ISU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Natalia Bravo (ISU) def. Malini Wijesinghe (BU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Natalia Barbery (BU) def. Jana Kustkova (ISU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
5. Laura Fitzgerald (ISU) def. Nikki Perlwitz (BU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Ivon Mihaleva (ISU) def. Nina Marjanovic (BU) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Sandra Maletin/Natalia Barbery (BU) vs. Veronika Golanova/Jana Kustkova (ILST) 6-2
2. Bozana Lojpur/Nikki Perlwitz (BU) def. Tara Damnjanovic/Natalia Bravo (ILST) 6-4
3. Malini Wijesinghe/Lindsay Haight (BU) def. Laura Fitzgerald/Ivon Mihaleva (ILST) 6-0
Thoughts from Coach Maja Kovacek:
"We knew we had a tough match ahead of us. They've had a great season. We started a little flat in doubles and they took advantage of that. I'm really proud of how everyone responded afterwards. We had some great performances in singles starting with Veronika at the top of the lineup. Laura handed the pressure of clinching the match very well, and overall it was a great team effort."
Up Next: The Redbirds head to Valparaiso, Indiana to take on the Crusaders on Sunday, April 7.
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