BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – In the first of two important Missouri Valley Conference matches this weekend for the Illinois State women's tennis team, the Redbirds (15-7, 3-0 MVC) swept the UNI Panthers (2-11, 0-3 MVC) Saturday at the Bloomington Tennis & Turf complex.
"Everyone did a great job today, playing with a lot of confidence and great energy," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "This is a great way to start the weekend, but we have another tough test tomorrow against Drake."
The Redbirds jumped out to an early lead by sweeping all three doubles matches to take the point. The No. 1 duo of Tara Damnjanovic and Tijana Zlatanovic defeated Emma Carr and Olivia Fain by a score of 6-4. The No. 2 tandem of Laura Fitzgerald and Penelope Abreu took down Thaissa Moreira and Valentina Caro by a score of 6-2 and the pair of Jelena Karla Vukicic and Alicja Zduniak defeated Madeline Doherty Issa Sullivan at the No. 3 spot by a final of 6-4 to complete the clean sweep.
The momentum carried over the singles matches for the Redbirds, as they swept all six contests in straight sets. Tara Damnjanovic picked up a 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 2 spot to start things off. Zlatanovic, the reigning MVC Singles Player of the Week, picked up a quick 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 1 spot to bring the score to 3-0 in favor of the Redbirds. The match was then clinched at the No. 3 spot by Natalia Bravo, who defeated Thaissa Moreira 6-4, 6-4, for the fourth point of the match for ISU.
Laura Arciniegas then picked up a 6-0, 6-2 victory at the No. 4 spot and Abreu kept things rolling at the No. 5 spot with a 6-0, 6-1 win. Laura Fitzgerald put a bow on the impressive victory for the Redbirds with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at the No. 6 spot to give ISU its 15th win of the season.
The Redbirds wrap up their busy home weekend with an 11 a.m. match Sunday morning against Drake.
ILLINOIS STATE 7, NORTHERN IOWA 0
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Singles competition:
1. Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) def. Emma Carr (UNI) 6-2, 6-2
2. Tara Damnjanovic (ILS) def. Madeline Doherty (UNI) 6-0, 6-1
3. Natalia Bravo (ILS) def. Thaissa Moreira (UNI) 6-4, 6-4
4. Laura Arciniegas (ILS) def. Olivia Fain (UNI) 6-0, 6-2
5. Penelope Abreu (ILS) def. Issa Sullivan (UNI) 6-0, 6-1
6. Laura Fitzgerald (ILS) def. Morganne Borsh (UNI) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition:
1. Tara Damnjanovic/Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) def. Emma Carr/Olivia Fain (UNI) 6-4
2. Laura Fitzgerald/Penelope Abreu (ILS) def. Thaissa Moreira/Valentina Caro (UNI) 6-2
3. Jelena Karla Vujicic/Alicja Zduniak (ILS) def. Madeline Doherty/Issa Sullivan (UNI) 6-4
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