Redbirds Open Spring Dual Meet Season With 6-1 Win Over UIC

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – After a long rest following a competitive fall tournament season, the Illinois State men's tennis team officially opened its spring dual meet slate on Friday night against in-state foe UIC and it was the Redbirds who came away with a 6-1 victory over the Flames at the Evergreen Racquet Club.

"I couldn't be prouder of these guys tonight," ISU head coach Mark Klysner said. "It was our first match of the spring and that usually also means a lot of nerves and rust in the game, but everyone stepped up and played great. I was really happy with how we came out in doubles as a whole and was super impressed with our freshmen who battled hard and didn't let the moment get the best of them."

The doubles matches started things off and it was the Flames that took the early advantage, winning 6-0 on court No. 3. However, the No. 2 duo of Melker Isaksson and Tin Ostro came right back with a 6-3 win to knot things up and leave the decision of the match's first team point to court No. 1. A tight match between each team's top doubles tandem was won by Illinois State, as Adrian Dibildox and Arvid Hjalte picked up a 7-6 to secure the point for the Redbirds.

As singles action began, it was freshman Tomas Valencia that picked up the first win in straight sets over Miroslav Cvjetan 6-3, 6-0, to make it 2-0 in favor of ISU. The veteran Hjalte then took care of business in quick fashion 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 to make it 3-0 and Dominick Cuchran clinched the victory for the Redbirds at the No. 6 spot with a defeat of Ammar Wazir 6-3, 6-4.

For good measure, Dibildox picked up a three-set win at the No. 5 spot and reigning Summit League Player of the Year Nam Pham added a hard-fought 7-6, 6-3 win at the No. 1 spot over UIC's Aleksa Bucan. The Flames' lone point of the day came on court No. 3 from Pelle Strandberg over Isaksson.

The Redbirds return to action on Sunday for a split doubleheader with IUPUI and Chicago State. First serve against IUPUI is set for noon and action against Chicago State is set for approximately 6 p.m. at the Evergreen Racquet Club.

FINAL SCORE: Illinois State (6), UIC (1)

Doubles:
No. 1 Adrian Dibildox/Arvid Hjalte (ILS) def. Miroslav Cvjetan/Gustavo Schwebel (UIC) 7-6
No. 2 Melker Isaksson/Tin Ostro (ILS) def. Artem Iermolov/Pelle Strandberg (UIC) 6-3
No. 3 Luiz Dos Santos/Jai Vallurupalli (UIC) def. Ming-Chieh Chiu/Nam Pham (ILS) 6-0

Singles:
No. 1 Nam Pham (ILS) def. Aleksa Bucan (UIC) 7-6, 6-3
No. 2 Arvid Hjalte (ILS) def. Jai Vallurupalli (UIC) 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 Pelle Strandberg (UIC) def. Melker Isaksson (ILS) 6-0, 7-6
No. 4 Tomas Valencia (ILS) def. Miroslav Cvjetan (UIC) 6-3, 6-0
No. 5 Adrian Dibildox (ILS) def. Gustavo Schwebel (UIC) 6-2, 4-6, 10-7
No. 6 Dominick Cuchran (ILS) def. Ammar Wazir (UIC) 6-3, 6-4

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