NORMAL, Ill. – The reigning Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champion Illinois State women's tennis team will officially open its fall 2021 season this weekend, when it welcomes eight teams to Normal for the annual Redbird Invite to be held at the Gregory Street Courts Friday through Sunday.
The Redbirds will host in-state foes Bradley, DePaul, Chicago State and the University of Chicago as well as regional opponents Marquette, IUPUI, Valparaiso and Saint Louis. Friday's action will begin at 9:30 a.m., and matches will continue Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. each day. One round of flighted doubles (an 8-game pro set) will begin the action each day, followed by a round of flighted singles matches (best 2-of-3 with 10 point third-set tiebreaker).
"We are so excited to start the season competing at our home courts," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "It's been a long time since we hosted a fall invitational outdoors and we're now able to have fans out there as well, so we are eager to get things started. With eight teams in town, there's a lot of tennis to be played and we are just looking to get better each day and get a lot of competitive matches in."
The Redbirds return six letterwinners from last year's championship squad, and welcome in two newcomers this year. Sophomore Tijana Zlatanovic leads the group, after she was named the MVC Player and Freshman of the Year last season. A four-time MVC Player of the Week selection during the regular season, Zlatanovic dominated at the No. 1 spot for the Redbirds going 17-5 overall including a 5-0 mark in MVC action. Senior Penelope Abreu also returns, after being named MVC All-Conference at the No. 5 singles position with a 13-7 overall record in 2021.
Two strong doubles pairings also return for the 'Birds, as Zlatanovic and partner Tara Damnjanovic were selected the No. 1 doubles team in the conference last year, after combining for a 13-7 mark during the regular season. Abreu and partner Laura Fitzgerald also return, after they earned MVC All-Conference honors at the No. 2 doubles spot posting a 7-1 mark overall in 2021, including a 5-0 mark against Valley foes.
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