Redbirds Even Summit League Mark With 4-3 Win Over Oral Roberts

TULSA, Okla. – After playing its first three Summit League matches at home, Illinois State hit the road to continue conference play on Saturday in Tulsa against Oral Roberts. After dropping the doubles point, the Redbirds rallied to win four of six singles matches to pick up a 4-3 victory over the Golden Eagles to even their Summit League record at 2-2.

With the win, the Redbirds clinched their spot in the upcoming 2022 Summit League Championship.

"I can't express how much this meant to us," ISU head coach Mark Klysner said. "We had six match points in doubles and ultimately lost the point. Singles was just so back and forth, and it was one of the most nerve-wracking matches of my coaching career. We were down 3-2 and Nam (Pham) beats the reigning Summit League Player of the Year. Then, Melker (Isaksson) wins the third-set tiebreaker to clinch the match for us. What an amazing college tennis match."

The Golden Eagles took the early advantage in doubles play with a win at No. 1, but ISU's No. 2 duo Diego Le Gal Perez and Melker Isaksson evened things up with a 6-2 win. That left the doubles point up to the result on court No. 3, and it was Oral Roberts to broke six match points to win 7-6 and secure the doubles point. 

A 6-1, 6-0 win by Diego Emilio Moura Herrera at No. 4 singles then tied the match at 1-1, before Oral Roberts picked up a win at No. 2 to regain the advantage at 2-1. Once again, the Redbirds battled back with a win by Arvid Hjalte at No. 5 by a score of 7-5, 6-1 over Eli Brewer to tie the match at 2-2. A win by ORU's Aaron Brewer at No. 6 put the Golden Eagles back up 3-2, but that was answered by Nam Pham's three-set win at No. 1 to knot the match at 3-3. The three-set win by Melker Isaksson at No. 3 then secured the match for ISU.

The Redbirds are back in action on Wednesday, April 13, for a midweek matchup against in-state foe Northwestern.

FINAL SCORE: Illinois State (4), Oral Roberts (3)

Singles: 
1. Nam Pham (ISU) def. Volodymyr Zakharov (ORU) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
2. Ignacio Vinas (ORU) def. Pol Botifoll Rius (ISU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Melker Isaksson (ISU) def. Ezequiel Monferrer (ORU) 5-7, 6-2, 7-6
4. Diego Emilio Moura Herrera (ISU) def. Kyle Johnson (ORU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Arvid Hjalte (ISU) def. Eli Brewer (ORU) 7-5, 6-1
6. Aaron Brewer (ORU) def. Dominick Cuchran (ISU) 7-6, 6-2

Doubles:
1. Ezequiel Monferrer/Ignacio Vinas (ORU) def. Zane Kohrs/Arvid Hjalte (ISU) 6-0
2. Diego Le Gal Perez/Melker Isaksson (ISU) def. Aaron Brewer/Kyle Johnson (ORU) 6-2
3. Eli Brewer/Volodymyr Zakharov (ORU) def. Dominick Cuchran/Diego Emilio Moura Herrera (ISU) 7-6

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:  Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.