NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team will take on Western Illinois on Saturday, February 8, at home and will then travel to Indianapolis to face off against IUPUI on Sunday, February 9, on another busy weekend of tennis.
The Redbirds (2-2) are coming off a two-match weekend against Chicago State and UIC. The 'Birds went 1-1, sweeping Chicago State 7-0 last Friday, before falling in a close match against UIC, 4-3, on Sunday.
Tara Damnjanovic earned MVC Singles Player of the Week for her dominant performance at the No. 1 spot for the Redbirds last weekend. Damnjanovic took down Chicago State's Kristina Pukhaeva 6-2, 6-2, to lead the way for ISU in the sweep on Friday and pulled ahead in a tight match against UIC's Lejla Colic 6-4, 2-6, 11-9 on Sunday to finish 2-0 on the weekend.
"Getting the MVC honor is a great way to start the season," Damnjanovic said. "Both of my matches were tough, however I managed to get through them and win. I worked very hard during the preseason and I feel ready to play the upcoming matches strong."
About Western Illinois:
Western Illinois is currently 0-6 this season to start the spring season. The last time the two teams met, the Redbirds swept Western Illinois, 7-0, in 2016. The Leathernecks are coached by Shawn Hyden, who is in his first season with the team. Before Hyden was hired at Western Illinois, he coached at Earlham College for three years, and took the program to its first postseason berth in program history.
About IUPUI:
IUPUI is currently 0-5 this to start the spring. The last time the Redbirds and the Jaguars met up was last season, when ISU pulled out a 4-3 win in a tight match. The Jaguars are coached by Jason Suscha, who is also in his first season at IUPUI. Suscha coached Butler's men's and women's tennis teams for many years prior to coming to IUPUI, and has won numerous awards with the Horizon League, including Men's Coach of the Year five times.
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