NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State Women's tennis team will open its 2019 fall tournament season at Chicago State Saturday at the Cougar Invite.
Returning Junior Laura Fitzgerald and freshman Elena Jankulovska will be traveling north to participate in the tournament for the 'Birds. This will be the first time that Jankulovska will compete for the 'Birds and she will join Fitzgerald, who finished last season with a 19-12 overall singles record and a 23-10 overall doubles record, including an impressive 11-1 duals record. Fitzgerald was also instrumental in helping the Redbirds clinch the MVC Championship last year and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
"Our goal for these next couple of tournaments is to get a lot of matches in and work out our doubles combinations in preparation for the MVC Individual Championships in early October," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "The team has put in a lot of hard work these past few weeks and I know they are excited to compete. Laura and Elena will face two MVC opponents this weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing them get out there and kick off the season with great energy."
The two Redbirds will be facing off against student-athletes from Bellarmine, Bradley, Chicago State, University of Chicago, Valparaiso and Cardinal Stritch. The tournament will be played in a flex format, where teams will play a different combination of singles and doubles each round. Three rounds will be played on Saturday and two will be played on Sunday, with play starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
