NORMAL, Ill. – Winners of its last five matches in a row, Illinois State (12-5) will look to solidify its hold atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings this weekend with a road swing in Iowa against Drake and Northern Iowa.
The Redbirds will take on the Bulldogs in Des Moines on Saturday at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center, before heading to Cedar Falls to take on the Panthers on Sunday at the Blackhawk Tennis Center.
ISU extended its winning streak to five matches in a row with a pair of wins last week against Saint Louis and Missouri State in its Missouri Valley Conference opener. The Redbirds defeated the Billikens 5-2 on Wednesday at the Evergreen Racquet Club, and then blanked the Bears 7-0 on Sunday to begin MVC play on a high note. The duo of Penelope Abreu and Maria Potsi were named the Missouri Valley Conference Doubles Team of the Week on Tuesday, after they won both of their matches to help the Redbirds to a pair of victories.
Drake heads into its match with ISU as winners of three-straight, including a 4-3 win at Valparaiso last Saturday to open MVC play. The Bulldogs opened the day earning the point in doubles play, and then picked up singles wins from Liza Petushkova at No. 1, Mille Haagensen at No. 4 and Darinka Stepan at No. 5.
UNI has dropped its last three matches overall, including a 7-0 loss to Valparaiso last Sunday to begin MVC action. The Panthers snagged a win at No. 1 doubles, but were blanked in the other two doubles matches and were swept in singles action.
Valpo took the other two wins at doubles to secure the team point and defeat UNI, 7-0.
Links to live results for the match at Drake can be found on the women's tennis schedule page on GoRedbirds.com.
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