Redbirds Roll In Mid-Week Win Over SIUE

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team was strong from start to finish in its match Wednesday against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, as the Redbirds rolled to a 4-1 win over the Cougars at the Bloomington Tennis & Turf complex.

"I'm really happy with the effort and focus today from the first point," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek stated. "We gave very few opportunities to our opponents and were able to close out matches well for good win."

The Redbirds got out to an early lead by wining the doubles point in impressive fashion. Reigning two-time Missouri Valley Conference Doubles Team of the Week Jelena Karla Vujicic and Alicja Zduniak defeated Callaghan Adams and Caitlyn Sporing, 6-1, at the No. 3 spot and the duo of Laura Fitzgerald and Natalia Bravo took down Maria Thibault and Melissa Vizcardo of SIUE, 6-3, to secure the doubles point for ISU. 

Tijana Zlatanovic was strong for the Redbirds at the No. 1 singles spot, as she defeated SIUE's Jill Lambrechts in straight sets (6-1, 6-4) and Natalia Bravo picked up a win a straight-set win (6-1, 6-2) at the No. 3 spot over Fabiola Perez. A win by Laura Arciniegas over Callaghan Adams (6-2, 6-0) at the No. 6 spot secured the victory for the Redbirds, who improve to 3-4 overall on the season.

Illinois State is back in action Sunday at home against Eastern Illinois, with first serve set for 9 a.m. at the Bloomington Tennis & Turf complex. In accordance with state and local guidelines, fans are currently not allowed to attend home ISU Athletics events. Game dates, opponents, times and locations are all subject to change.

ILLINOIS STATE 4, SIUE 1
Singles competition:
1. Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) def. Jill Lambrechts (SIUE) 6-1, 6-4
2. Jordan Schifano (SIUE) def. Tara Damnjanovic (ILS) 0-0, 6-3
3. Natalia Bravo (ILS) def. Fabiola Perez (SIUE) 6-1, 6-2
4. Penelope Abreu (ILS) vs. Melissa Vizcardo (SIUE) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
5. Laura Fitzgerald (ILS) vs. Nicole Gomez (SIUE) 6-3, 3-4, unfinished
6. Laura Arciniegas (ILS) def. Callaghan Adams (SIUE) 6-2, 6-0
 
Doubles competition:
1. Tara Damnjanovic/Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) vs. Jill Lambrechts/Jordan Schifano (SIUE) 5-3, unfinished
2. Laura Fitzgerald/Natalia Bravo (ILS) def. Maria Thibault/Melissa Vizcardo (SIUE) 6-3
3. Jelena Karla Vujicic/Alicja Zduniak (ILS) def. Callaghan Adams/Caitlyn Sporing (SIUE) 6-1

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