CHICAGO, Ill. – It was a snowy night in Chicago, but action was hot inside the Hinsdale Racquet Club Saturday night as the Redbirds took on the UIC Flames and came away with their first win of the season via a 6-1 win.
"Tonight was another typical battle between our teams," ISU head coach Mark Klysner said. "We didn't play our best tennis tonight, but we found a way to win on almost every court without playing our best and sometimes you have to win those kinds of matches. So, I'm happy for the win but we will need to step it up for next weekend."
The Redbirds picked up the doubles point to start things off, as the duo of Aleksa Lazarevic and Melker Isaakson took down the team of Luiz Dos Santos and Pelle Strandberg at the No. 1 spot, 6-3. After a win by default at the No. 3 spot, the Redbirds headed into the singles matches with some momentum.
Diego Le Gal Perez helped the Redbirds pick up their third point of the match with a straight-set 6-3, 6-2, victory over UIC's Gustavo Schwebel at the No. 3 spot. A 6-3, 6-2 victory by newcomer Ming-Chieh Chiu over Casey Schrader then secured the fourth point of the match for ISU. Wins by Lazarevic and Isaakson at the No. 4 and No. 2 spots, respectively, rounded out the 6-1 victory for the Redbirds.
A road swing to Tennessee awaits the Redbirds, as they head to take on Middle Tennessee on Friday and Vanderbilt on Saturday.
FINAL SCORE: ISU (6), UIC (1)
Singles Competition
1. Pelle Strandberg (UIC) def. Nam Pham (ISU) 7-6, 7-6
2. Melker Isaksson (ISU) def. Luiz Dos Santos (UIC) 7-5, 7-6
3. Diego Le Gal Perez (ISU) def. Gustavo Schwebel (UIC) 6-3, 6-2
4. Aleksa Lazarevic (ISU) def. Artem Iermolov (UIC) 6-1, 5-7, 10-5
5. Ming-Chieh Chiu (ISU) def. Casey Schrader (UIC) 6-3, 6-2
6. Diego Emilio Moura Herrera (ISU) won by default
Doubles Competition
1. Lazarevic/Isaksson (ISU) def. Dos Santos/Strandberg (UIC) 6-3
2. Schrader/Iermolov (UIC) def. Pham/Chiu (ISU) 7-5
3. Le Gal Perez/Rasmusson (ISU) won by default
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