OMAHA, Neb. – For the second straight day, Illinois State men's tennis was in action from Omaha, this time as they returned to Summit League play as the 'Birds picked up a pivotal 5-2 win over the Mavericks of Omaha Saturday afternoon.
"What a match today. I can't explain how proud I am of the guys today and this weekend for that matter," ISU head coach Mark Klysner said. "Beating a ranked team yesterday, you get nervous that we may not come out with the same energy. But credit to the boys as they started with so much energy from the first point in doubles to the end of singles."
As action got underway against Omaha, the doubles point was hotly contested as the Redbirds gained the early advantage with a win at both no. 2 and 3. The no. 1 tandem of Arvid Hjalte and Adrian Dibildox would fall 6-1 to Omaha's Davis Lawley and Quintan Van Wijk. However, the 'Birds responded to take the other two results, a 6-2 win by Tin Ostro and Emiliano Gonzales at no. 2 and a 6-4 win by Nam Pham and Ming-Chieh Chiu at no. 3.
"Winning the doubles point was huge as well for us as we always struggle in that area but it certainly helped us going into singles," Klysner said. "Now we need to keep working and get prepared for the next one."
As the action moved to singles, ISU No. 1 Nam Pham picked up yet another singles victory, this time a 7-6, 6-3 win over Mikhail Korkunov. Arvid Hjalte, ISU's no. 2, would gain another Redbird victory on Saturday as he collected a 7-6, 1-6, 6-2 win over Davis Lawley. The other two wins for ISU came by Adrian Dibildox (no. 5) by a final of 6-4, 6-3 and Emiliano Gonzales (no. 6) by scores of 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 over the Mavericks.
Unfortunately, it would be wins for Omaha at both no. 3 and 4. The Mavericks saw Ryoma Mishiro defeat Tomas Valencia by a final of 6-4, 6-4 at no. 4 before Ethan Gaubert rounded out the day with his 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 win over ISU's Melker Isaksson to bring the score to its final at 5-2.
The Redbirds return to action on April 5 when the Redbirds head down to Saint Louis to face the Billikens.
FINAL SCORE: Illinois State (5), Omaha (2)
Doubles:Â
No. 1 Davis Lawley/Quintan Van Wijk (UNO) def. Arvid Hjalte/Adrian Dibildox (ILS) 6-1
No. 2 Emiliano Gonzales/Tin Ostro (ILS) def. Ethan Gaubert/Ryoma Mishiro (UNO) 6-2
No. 3Â Nam Pham/Ming-Chieh Chiu (ILS) def. Hugo Piles/Alvaro Quintana (UNO) 6-4
Singles:
No. 1 Nam Pham (ILS) def. Mikhail Korkunov (UNO) 7-6, 6-3
No. 2 Arvid Hjalte (ILS) def. Davis Lawley (UNO) 7-6, 1-6, 6-2
No. 3 Ethan Gaubert (UNO) def. Melker Isaksson (ILS) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
No. 4 Ryoma Mishiro (UNO) def. Tomas Valencia (ILS) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 Adrian Dibildox (ILS) def. Hugo Piles (UNO) 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 Emiliano Gonzales (ILS) def. Quintan Van Wijk (UNO) 6-4, 0-6, 6-4
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