NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team finished second in the Redbird Invitational, after falling to champion Bowling Green, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at the Bloomington Tennis Center.
The Redbirds (5-5) fell 0-1 in the match after dropping the doubles point. Freshman Elana Jankulovska took down Marta Bettinelli 7-5, 6-4 at the No. 5 spot and junior Ivon Mihaleva defeated Laura Silveira at the No. 6 spot for the 'Birds to score the only points of the match for ISU. Unfortunately, the Redbirds weren't able to cut the deficit and Bowling Green took the match 4-2.
Redbirds Scoring Breakdown:
Singles competition
1. Marharita-Sophia Tavpash (BGSU) def. Tara Damnjanovic (ILST) 6-4, 6-2
2. Ioanna Tsadari (BGSU) def. Natalia Bravo (ILST) 6-2, 6-1
3. Laura Fitzgerald (ILST) vs. Yulia Kapitenova (BGSU) 6-3, 4-6, 3-0 DNF
4. Ayumi Sasaki (BGSU) def. Laura Arciniegas (ILST) 6-3, 6-4
5. Elena Jankulovska (ILST) def. Marta Bettinelli (BGSU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Ivon Mihaleva (ILST) def. Laura Silveira (BGSU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Tara Damnjanovic/ Natalia Bravo (ILST) def. Marharita-Sophia Tavpash/ Marta Bettinelli (BGSU) 6-2
2. Yulia Kapitenova/Ioanna Tsadari (BGSU) def. Laura Fitzgerald/Elena Jankulovska (ILST) 6-2
3. Ayumi Sasaki/Laura Silveira (BGSU) def. Laura Arciniegas/Ivon Mihaleva (ILST) 6-1
Thoughts from Coach Maja Kovacek:
"It was a really tough battle out there today. The doubles got away from us quickly and that proved to be a big factor in the final outcome."
Up Next:
The Redbirds are back on the road next weekend, traveling to Nebraska on March 6 and to Wyoming on March 7.
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