NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team will begin their spring slate at the Bloomington Tennis Center against Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m. on Friday, January 24, and will then travel to the Windy City to take on DePaul on Sunday, January 26, at 4 p.m.
The Redbirds were ranked No. 2 in the MVC Preseason Poll behind Stony Brook, who was ranked No. 1. The Redbirds won the MVC regular-season championship last year and defeated Stony Brook in the finals of the MVC Championship to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Before heading into their winter break, the Redbirds shined at the Redbird Invite, with multiple players placing in the top three in their brackets. Junior Laura Fitzgerald took first place over her teammate, Junior Ivon Mihaleva. Senior Tara Damnjanovic took home third place in her flight, while senior Jelena Vujicic grabbed the consolation championship in the same bracket.
"This upcoming match is going to be pretty exciting," senior Natalia Bravo said when asked about this upcoming season. "I've been making the most out of practices because I'll be starting my last tennis season and I plan on doing the same during matches. I'm pretty excited for what's to come and hope that my team and I can get another ring by the end of the season."
About Eastern Illinois:
The Panthers sent four different players to the ITA Midwest Regional this past fall, with junior Rachel Papavasilopoulos snagging a win in the first round before being eliminated. Papavasilopoulos also earned the Ohio Valley Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year last season, becoming the first panther to win the award. EIU finished with a record of 11-11 last season under head coach Chris Tolson.
About DePaul:
The Blue Demons took home the Big East Tournament title for the fourth time in six years last season, after posting an 11-11 record in the regular season and being named the No. 2 seed. The Blue Demons have found a lot of success during the fall tournament season, with senior Aspasia Avgeri posting a nine-match win streak during that time, falling short in the main draw of the ITA Midwest Regional to Ohio State's Shiori Fukuda. This is also the first season under head coach Marisa Arce, after Mark Ardizzone left the program shortly after being named the Big East Coach of the Year.
Thoughts from Coach Maja Kovacek:
"We've had really good practices leading up to this weekend, including our training trip to Orlando. The team is motivated and exited for the season opener and we are looking forward to kicking off the season at home on Friday."
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