Birds Pick Up Second-Straight Win, Defeat EIU 6-1

NORMAL, Ill. – For the second time this week, the Illinois State women's tennis team took down an in-state foe in non-conference action, as the Redbirds defeated the Eastern Illinois Panthers 6-1 Sunday morning at the Bloomington Tennis & Turf complex.

"It was good to see us come away with the doubles point, though we were not playing our best," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "Tara and Natalia come up with a couple of gritty wins up top in singles to set up the bottom half of the lineup to succeed and help us win today."

The doubles point was hotly contested, but the Redbirds ultimately won two of three doubles matches to come away with the first point of the day. Two-time Missouri Valley Conference Doubles Team of the Week Jelena Karla Vujicic and Alicja Zduniak remained undefeated on the season and came away with an easy 6-2 win at No. 3. EIU won at the No. 2 spot, but a win by Tara Damnjanovic and Tijana Zlatanovic at No. 1 secured the early advantage for the Redbirds.

EIU battled back to take a win at No. 1 singles in a three-set marathon, but that would be the only point of the day for the Panthers as the Redbirds won the remaining five singles matches to come away with the victory. Natalia Bravo needed three sets against Eastern Illinois' Christine Gouws at the No. 2 spot and Damnjanovic took down Elizaveta Bukraba-Ulanova at the No. 3 spot to keep things rolling. Penelope Abreu, Laura Fitzgerald and Laura Arciniegas each had little trouble in the No. 4-6 spots, respectively, as each won in straight sets to give the Redbirds their second win in a row and help the team get back to .500 on the season at 4-4 overall.

Illinois State returns to action next Saturday against Dayton, with first serve at the South Regency Tennis Center in Miamisburg, Ohio, set for 1:30 p.m. CT.

RESULTS: ILLINOIS STATE 6, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
 
Singles competition:
1. Rachel Papavasilopoulos (EIU) def. Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) 6-4, 6-7, 6-2
2. Natalia Bravo (ILS) def. Christine Gouws (EIU) 6-7, 6-0, 6-3
3. Tara Damnjanovic (ILS) def. Elizaveta Bukraba-Ulanova (EIU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Penelope Abreu (ILS) vs. Brittany Steven (EIU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Laura Fitzgerald (ILS) vs. Lauren Ellis (EIU) 6-4, 6-0
6. Laura Arciniegas (ILS) def. Kaitlyn Snyder (EIU) 6-1, 6-0
 
Doubles competition:
1. Tara Damnjanovic/Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) vs. Elizaveta Bukraba-Ulanova/Brittany Steven (EIU) 6-4
2. Rachel Papavasilopoulos/Lauren Ellis (EIU) def. Laura Fitzgerald/Natalia Bravo (ILS) 6-4
3. Jelena Karla Vujicic/Alicja Zduniak (ILS) def. Kaitlyn Snyder/Christine Gouws (EIU) 6-2

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