Redbirds Drop Road Match To South Carolina State, 4-2

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The start of the Illinois State women's tennis team's spring break trip began on Wednesday, when the Redbird traveled to Orangeburg, South Carolina, to take on South Carolina State. After a hard-fought doubles point, the Bulldogs got on a roll in singles play and picked up a 4-2 win over the Redbirds.

The doubles point was highly contested to start the match, with things tied up 1-1 after a win on court No. 2 by Alexandra Abyasova and Silvia Pomarolli over SCSU's Teodora Vujicic and Nalanda Teixeria da Silva by a score of 7-5. That left things up to court No. 3, which needed to go to a tiebreaker to decide things, but it was ultimately SCSU that won the match and secured the early doubles point.

In singles play, the Redbirds picked up straight-set wins at the No. 3 spot from Nevena Kolarevic by a score of 6-4, 6-4 and at the No. 5 spot by Pomarolli by a score of 6-3, 6-3. However, the Bulldogs were able to secure wins at the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 6 spots to clinch the match by a final score of 4-2.

ISU heads to Charleston, South Carolina, tomorrow as it continues is spring trip with a match against the College of Charleston, which is set for 12:30 p.m. CT.

FINAL SCORE: South Carolina State (4), Illinois State (2)

Doubles: 
No. 1 Soyfa Vitaliyena Chursina/Semlali Hind (SCSU) def. Tara Damnjanovic/Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) 6-3
No. 2 Alexandra Abyasova/Silvia Pomarolli (ILS) def. Teodora Vujicic/Nalanda Teixeria da Silva (SCSU) 7-5
No. 3 Rachida Berjane/Malannia Vashkevich (SCSU) def. Elena Jankulovska/Nevena Kolarevic (ILS) 7-6

Singles:
No. 1 Soyfa Vitaliyena Chursina (SCSU) def. Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 Rachida Berjane (SCSU) vs. Alexandra Abyasova (ILS) 6-4, 3-2 unfinished
No. 3 Nevena Kolarevic (ILS) def. Teodora Vujicic (SCSU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 Semlali Hind (SCSU) def. Tara Damnjanovic (ILS) 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 Silvia Pomarolli (ILS) def. Nalanda Teixeria da Silva (SCSU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 Malannia Vashkevich (SCSU) def. Elena Jankulovska (ILS) 6-4, 7-5

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