Redbirds Set To Play For Four Titles On Sunday At MVC Individual Championship

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The winning ways continued for the Illinois State women's tennis team on Saturday at the 2023 MVC Individual Championship in Springfield, Missouri, as the Redbirds will play for four titles on Sunday at the Cooper Tennis Complex.

"I feel really good about the fight we showed today, coming away with a couple of three set wins and moving on to four finals tomorrow," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "Each day is more challenging than the last, and I'm excited to see how our players respond tomorrow."

In singles, the Redbirds have advanced to the finals in three flights, with Nevena Kolarevic, Lana Caculovic and Nuria Sanz each advancing to the championship matches in their respective brackets. Kolarevic, playing in Flight 2, defeated Belmont's Vesa Gjinaj 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the title match against Mille Haagensen of Drake. Caculovic, playing in her first MVC Individual Championship, rolled to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Bradley's Maria Bezmenova to set up a match with Sarah Bureau of Murray State tomorrow for the Flight 3 title. Rounding out the championship qualifiers was newcomer Sanz, who battled with Murray State's Annika Pschorr and was victorious by a final of 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2 to move onto Sunday to face Darinka Stepan of Drake for the Flight 5 crown.

The lone doubles team to advance to a final was the duo of Kolarevic and Silvia Pomarolli, who bettered the duo of Gjinaj/Sokolovic of Belmont by a score of 8-3 to move onto the Flight 2 final against the team of Haagensen and Stepan of Drake.

Day three of the MVC Individual Championship begins at 9 a.m. Sunday morning with doubles, followed by singles in the afternoon.

RESULTS:

Flight 1 Singles:
Mariia Hlahola (BEL) def. Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) 6-0, 6-3

Flight 2 Singles:
Nevena Kolarevic (ILS) def. Vesa Gjinaj (BEL) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1

Flight 3 Singles:
Lana Caculovic (ISU) def. Maria Bezmenova (BRAD) 6-4, 6-2

Flight 4 Singles: 
Silvia Pomarolli (ISU) def. Viktoria Kliimand (BEL) 6-1, 6-4

Flight 5 Singles:
Nuria Sanz (ISU) def. Annika Pschorr (MUR) 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2

Flight 6 Singles:
Nicole Lee (DU) def. Sofia Rodrigo (ILS) Inj-Def

Flight 2 Doubles:
Kolarevic/Pomarolli (ISU) def. Gjinaj/Sokolovic (BEL) 8-3

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