NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team is traveling across the Midwest this weekend to take on Akron in Ohio on Saturday, February 22, and then Butler in Indianapolis on Sunday, February 23.
The Redbirds are coming off of a close loss to SIUE this past weekend. The 'Birds pulled out the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead. Senior's Natalia Bravo and Laura Arciniegas took down their opponents in the No. 3 and No. 6 spots in singles as well. Unfortunately, the 'Birds weren't able to fend off the Cougars' comeback and fell to SIUE, 4-3.
About Akron:
The Zips are currently 1-5 this season, with their lone win coming via a sweep against Seton Hall this past Friday, February 14. Akron took the win over Illinois State last season 6-1 on their way to a second-place finish in the MAC Conference. Two zips also earned All-Conference honors for their performance last season. Miruna Vasilescu earned first team all-conference honors and Anna Uljanov earned second-team honors. The Zips are coached by Brian Peters, who is in his first year as head coach after serving as the team's assistant coach for the past nine seasons.
About Butler:
The Bulldogs are currently 4-6 this spring, including a 4-3 win over Valparaiso on Sunday, January 19. The Redbirds and the Bulldogs met last season, when Illinois State defeated Butler in Indianapolis, 4-1. The Bulldogs are led by head coach, Mat Iandolo who is in his first season at the head of the program. Iandolo coached for 28 years as the head coach at both Utah and Purdue, where he led both programs to multiple runs in the NCAA tournament.
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