OMAHA, Neb. – The first of two from Omaha, Nebraska would be a nail-biting victory for Illinois State men's tennis. The Redbirds were in action against 64th-ranked Creighton Friday afternoon, as it was the 'Birds pulling out a crucial 4-3 victory over the Bluejays.
"Wow, what a match. We played some good doubles but it's still something we are constantly working on and unfortunately getting used to dropping that point," head coach Mark Klysner said.
The doubles point was highly contested, as the Redbirds jumped out to the early advantage thanks to a win by the No. 2 duo of Emiliano Gonzales and Tin Ostro over Creighton's Alejandro Gandini and Kirtan Patel by a score of 6-4. The Bluejays then tied things up with a 6-4 win at the No. 1 spot, leaving the doubles point up to the outcome on court No. 3.
That match would be just as close as the other two, as Creighton's Oscar Alvarez and Zachary Kuo edged out ISU's Nam Pham and Ming-Chieh Chiu to pick up the crucial first point of the match.
As the action moved to singles, Creighton took a 2-0 lead with a win by Casey Ross over ISU's Arvid Hjalte by scores of 6-1, 6-0. However, Gonzales got the 'Birds on the board with a victory at no. 6 over Creighton's Patel by a final of 6-2, 6-4. Nam Pham kept the momentum rolling as he knotted the score at 2-2 with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Creighton's Matthew Lanahan at no. 1.
"Credit to the guys for coming out so fired up in singles and whenever playing a ranked team, you are always an underdog, but boy did we step it up today and we just earned it the old fashioned way," Klysner said. "
As the programs looked to pull ahead, it would be Adrian Dibilidox of ISU who gave ISU the advantage, pulling them ahead 3-2, after defeating Shin Inoue of Creighton by a final of 6-3, 6-4 at no. 5.
Then, in the match clinching result, it was freshman Tomas Valencia stepping up in the moment, pulling out a 7-5, 6-4 win at no. 4 to push ISU ahead 4-2 with only one match result on deck.
The final singles result fell to Creighton's Gandini over ISU's Melker Isaksson at no. 3, as the Bluejays won 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to close the margin to the final 4-3 result.
"This one feels great but now we get ready for a battle tomorrow," Klysner said.
The Redbirds wrap up action their time in Omaha with a battle against Summit League foe, Omaha, tomorrow afternoon. First serve is set for 2:00 p.m.
FINAL SCORE: Illinois State (4), Creighton (3)
Doubles:
No. 1 Matthew Lanahan/Casey Ross (CRE) def. Arvid Hjalte/Adrian Dibildox (ILS) 6-4
No. 2 Emiliano Gonzales/Tin Ostro (ILS) def. Kirtan Patel/Alejandro Gandini (CRE) 6-4  Â
No. 3 Zachary Kuo/Oscar Alvarez (CRE) def. Nam Pham/Ming-Chieh Chiu (ILS) 7-5
Singles:
No. 1 Nam Pham (ILS) def. Matthew Lanahan (CRE) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
No. 2 Casey Ross (CRE) def. Arvid Hjalte (ILS) 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 Alejandro Gandini (CRE) def. Melker Isaksson (ILS) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
No. 4Â Tomas Valencia (ILS) def. Oscar Alvarez (CRE) 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 Adrian Dibildox (ILS) def. Shin Inoue (CRE) 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 Emiliano Gonzales (ILS) def. Kirtan Patel (CRE) 6-2, 6-4
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