NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team captured its first win of the spring season Friday afternoon against EIU. The Redbirds won 5-2 over the Panthers in their first of two matches this weekend.
The 'Birds captured the doubles point to go up 1-0 in the contest. Senior Laura Arciniegas pushed the lead to 2-0 after taking down Esa Kavtaradez 6-2, 6-3, in the No. 6 spot. Senior Natalia Bravo was next, defeating Christine Gouws 7-6, 6-3 at the No. 2 spot. Juniors Laura Fitzgerald and Ivon Mihaleva finished the match for the 'Birds, securing wins at the No. 3 and 5 spots respectively.
"It feels amazing to win our first season match" answered Senior Natalia Bravo when asked about the win. "There's no better way to start my last season and I'm looking forward to many more wins with this special group of girls. My match was okay. I wasn't playing my best and got tired at the start of the second set. However, I managed to get through this and was able to win. I'm very happy overall with our win. Go birds!"
Redbirds Scoring Breakdown:
Singles competition
1. Rachel Papavasilopoulos (EIU) def. Tara Damnjanovic (ILST) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. Natalia Bravo (ILST) def. Christine Gouws (EIU) 7-6, 6-3
3. Laura Fitzgerald (ILST) def. Karla Contreras (EIU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
4. Elizaveta Bukraba-Ulanova (EIU) def. Jelena Karla Vujicic (ILST) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6
5. Ivon Mihaleva (ILST) vs. Brittany Steven (EIU) 6-2, 6-7, 6-2
6. Laura Arciniegas (ILST) vs. Esa Kavtaradez (EIU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Tara Damnjanovic/Jelena Karla Vujicic (ILST) def. Rachel Papavasilopoulos/Elizaveta Bukraba-Ulanova (CRE) 6-2
2. Laura Fitzgerald/Natalia Bravo (ILST) def. Karla Contreras/Brittany Steven (EIU) 6-1
3. Christine Gouws/Lauren Ellis (EIU) def. Elana Jankulovska/Ivon Mihaleva (ILST) 7-6
Thoughts from Coach Maja Kovacek:
"The match was very competitive in singles and I give my players a lot of credit for battling through and getting the wins, while not playing their best."
Up Next:
The Redbirds travel to Chicago to take on the DePaul Blue Devils on Sunday, January 26, at 4 p.m. to finish out the weekend.
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