LOS ANGELES – The Illinois State women's tennis team fell to No. 13 USC 4-0 on Saturday, May 4, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, ending the 2018-19 season with an impressive 20-7 overall record.
The Redbirds fought a hard battle early on, dropping the doubles point as USC captured wins in No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. All-Conference picks, Jana Kustkova and Laura Fitzgerald battled point for point against USC's Becca Weissmann/Danielle WIllson before their match was halted. Fitzgerald took that fight to the singles court as she took on Danielle Wilson and battled through a tie-breaker before the match was cut short.
Tara Damnjanovic began her first set trailing 3-0, the freshman battled back but ultimately fell short 6-4 in the first set. She was defeated by nationally ranked Angela Kulikov (No. 83) 6-4, 6-3. Veronika Golanova also faced a ranked individual, competing against No. 51 Salma Ewing. The senior's hard-fought battle was cut short due to the Trojans clinching the 4-0 score.
Thoughts from Coach Maja Kovacek:
"We came out with the right attitude and played to win. It was a great learning experience, and I know these kids are motivated and excited to do whatever it takes to be in the same position next year. This whole year I've seen so much passion from our players, and we had great leadership in our seniors. Jana and Veronika have been a big part of our growth as a program and it's been a joy to work with them for four years."
Redbirds Scoring Breakdown:
Singles competition
1. Salma Ewing (USC) vs. Veronika Golanova (ILST) 6-2, 4-1 DNF
2. Angela Kulikov (USC) def. Tara Damnjanovic (ILST) 6-4, 6-1
3. Ana Neffa (USC) def. Natalia Bravo (ILST) 6-1, 6-1
4. Rianna Valdes (USC) def. Jana Kustkova (ILST) 6-2, 6-0
5. Danielle WIllson (USC) vs Laura Fitzgerald (ILST) 7-6 (4), 0-0 DNF
6. Becca Weissmann (USC) vs. Ivon Mihaleva (ILST) 6-2, 4-1 DNF
Doubles competition
1. Angela Kulikov/Rianna Valdes (USC) def. Veronika Golanova/ Tara Damnjanovic (ILST) 6-1
2. Jana Kustkova/Laura Fitzgerald (ILST) vs. Becca Weissmann/Danielle WIllson (USC) 4-5 DNF
3. Constance Branstine/Estelle Jaeger (USC) def. Natalia Bravo/Ivon Mihaleva (ILST) 6-2
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