SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Illinois State freshman Nevena Kolarevic had quite the debut at her first Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships, as she went undefeated in Flight 3 to take home the championship on Sunday at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Missouri.
"Nevena had a great tournament and was dominant in every match," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "It's always exciting getting that kind of performance at the MVCs from a freshman. I'm also very happy with Elena and Tijana, as they both bounced back today and played some of their best tennis this fall. We can definitely look back to some missed opportunities this tournament, but we played a ton of competitive matches and got a lot better in the process."Â
Kolarevic defeated Ana Jover of UIC in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in the title match to secure the lone championship of the weekend for the Redbirds. Tara Damnjanovic was also playing for a title in Flight 4 on Sunday, but dropped a tough three-set match to UIC's Natalia Nikolopoulou 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6) to finish in second place overall.
The Redbirds also played in five third-place matches on Sunday, with veterans Tijana Zlatanovic and Elena Jankulovska both coming away with victories. Zlatanovic cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 win in Flight 1 over UIC's Agnes Gustafsson to take third and Jankulovska defeated Oriana Parkins-Godwin of Drake by a score of 6-2, 6-3 to take third in Flight 6. In doubles action, the duo of Alexandra Abyasova and Silvia Pomarolli fought back from a tough loss on Saturday to come away with an 8-5 win over the team of Malazonia and Nikolopoulou of UIC to take third place in Flight 2.
Illinois State will have a week off, before returning to the courts on October 20 for the start of the ITA Midwest Regionals hosted by Michigan.
RESULTS
Singles:
•   Flight No. 1 – Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) def. Agnes Gustafsson (UIC) 6-4, 6-0 (Third Place Match)
•   Flight No. 2 – Andrijana Brkic (UNI) def. Alexandra Abyasova (ILS) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 (Third Place Match)
•   Flight No. 3 – Nevena Kolarevic (ILS) def. Ana Jover (UIC) 6-2, 6-4 (Championship Match)
•   Flight No. 4 – Natalia Nikolopoulou (UIC) def. Tara Damjanovic (ILS) 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6) (Championship Match)
•   Flight No. 5 – Cora-Lynn von Dungern (UIC) def. Silvia Pomarolli (ILS) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 (Third Place Match)
•   Flight No. 6 – Elena Jankulovska (ILS) def. Oriana Parkins-Godwin (DU) 6-2, 6-3 (Third Place Match)
•   Flight No. 7 – Jyun-Yi Lee (DU) def. Zoe Limparis (ILS) 6-1, 6-3 (Third Place Match)
Doubles:
•   Flight No. 2 – Abyasova/Pomarolli (ILS) def. Malazonia/Nikolopoulou (UIC) 8-5 (Third Place Match)
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