NORMAL, Ill. – A road trip for a pair of matches in Tennessee is next for the Illinois State men's tennis squad, as they face Middle Tennessee on Friday and Vanderbilt on Saturday as the season-opening road trip continues.
"This is going to be another tough and challenging weekend for the guys, as we play two teams usually ranked in the top 40 in the country," ISU head coach Mark Klysner said. "It's a test my guys are definitely looking forward to and we've had a good week of practice. Spirits are high and we have nothing to lose, so I hope we come out intense, focused and just play loose."
The Redbirds are coming off a 6-1 win over UIC last Saturday, their first win of the 2021 campaign. Melker Isaksson put up a strong effort against the Flames, as he and Aleksa Lazarevic partnered up at the No. 1 spot in the doubles lineup to pick up a 6-3 win and help secure the doubles point for the Redbirds. Later, at the No. 2 singles spot, the Lidkoping, Sweden, native defeated Luiz Dos Santos in straight sets (7-5, 7-6) to help give Illinois State the 6-1 team victory. For his efforts, Isaksson was named the Summit League men's tennis athlete of the week on Tuesday, the first weekly conference honor of his career.
Friday's match at Middle Tennessee is set to begin at 4 p.m. CT at the Adams Tennis Complex in Murfreesboro. The Blue Raiders have won 21 straight matches at home, dating back to 2019, and are currently 4-3 overall on the season. The roster features Pavel Motl and Francisco Rocha, who have earned back-to-back Conference USA Player of the Week honors, and Oskar Michalek who is ranked No. 102 in the ITA's top-125 singles rankings.Â
After the matchup with the Blue Raiders, the Redbirds will travel to Nashville on Saturday to face off against Vanderbilt at the Currey Tennis Center, with first serve set for 10 a.m. CT. The Commodores improved to 3-0 on the season with a pair of wins last weekend over Lipscomb and Rice. They are led by George Harwell, who is ranked No. 117 in the nation in the first Oracle/ITA rankings of 2021.
Live stats and video will be available for both matches, and links can be found on the men's tennis schedule on GoRedbirds.com.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
Â
