NORMAL, Ill. – Over 19 matches this spring, the Illinois State women's tennis team has been preparing for the most important stretch of the season: Missouri Valley Conference play. The Redbirds (12-7) will begin their quest for another MVC title when they travel down I-74 to play rival Bradley (5-4) Saturday indoors at The Clubs at River City at 11 a.m. due to the threat of inclement weather.
"We are really excited to kick off the conference schedule against Bradley," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "It's always one of our biggest matches of the season and I know the team is really motivated and eager to get out there tomorrow."
Illinois State was selected by league coaches as the favorite in the 2021 MVC preseason poll. The Redbirds received 45 points and captured four first-place votes.
The Redbirds head into MVC play as winners of three of their last four matches overall. ISU most recently picked up wins at Saint Louis (6-1) and at Northern Illinois (4-3) on Tuesday. In their final non-conference tune-up, the 'Birds battled the Huskies for the majority of the match with ISU winning the doubles point early. Then, as action moved to singles play, ISU picked up wins from Tara Damnjanovic, Penelope Abreu at the No. 5 spot and Laura Arciniegas then clinched the match at No. 4.
Bradley had its winning streak snapped at four, when it dropped a 4-1 decision to Kansas City last Sunday. Sandra Maletin picked up the lone point for the Braves to improve to 8-1 start to the 2021 dual match season. Her .724 career singles winning percentage has improved to the best of any student-athlete with at least 50 career singles matches played in Bradley history.
ISU and Bradley last faced off during the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Tennis Team Championship in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with the Redbirds winning the match 4-0 on way to a tournament championship and a NCAA Tournament berth.
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