NORMAL, Ill. – Wednesday's match at the Gregory Street Courts was a big one for the Illinois State men's tennis team, as a win over Oral Roberts would keep their Summit League Tournament hopes alive. The Redbirds (10-12, 2-2 Summit League) had to battle some windy conditions, but locked in and picked up a crucial 5-2 win over the Golden Eagles.
"I'm really proud of how our guys came together today to get a big win when we needed it," ISU head coach Mark Klysner said. "The wind was playing some havoc out there at times and that was causing both teams to have to adjust. I think our guys were able to stay focused and composed better and that made all the difference in the outcome in some close matches. It was great to get the doubles point and then early wins from Tomas and Adrian to give the team some confidence to close things out on a high note on Senior Day for Melker."
The Redbirds got out to a strong start in doubles, as the No. 3 duo of Nam Pham and Ming-Chieh Chiu buckled down to win by a score of 6-3 to give ISU the early advantage. The No. 2 tandem of Emiliano Gonzales and Tin Ostro then took care of business with a 6-4 win to clinch the doubles point and send the Redbirds into singles play with some momentum.
Tomas Valencia started singles play strong at the No. 4 spot, as he rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 win to make it 2-0 in favor of the Redbirds. Adrian Dibildox picked up a quick 6-0, 6-2 win at the No. 5 spot just minutes later to make it 3-0 and put the 'Birds in the drivers' seat. However, Oral Roberts battled back with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots to make the score 3-2 with two matches remaining.
After Gonzales picked up a win in the first set, he dropped the second set to ORU's Ricardo Filho to send things to a third and deciding set on court No. 6. That third set was highly contested, but ultimately Gonzales picked up the win with a 6-4 victory in the deciding frame. For good measure, Nam Pham battled to a three set win over ORU's Ignacio Vinas  6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) at the No. 1 spot to bring the score to its final at 5-2.
The Redbirds return to action on Saturday, as they travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on the Drake Bulldogs in the Summit League regular-season finale. First serve is set for 5 p.m. at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
FINAL SCORE: Illinois State (5), Oral Roberts (2)
Doubles:
No. 1 Adrian Dibildox/Arvid Hjalte (ILS) vs. Ezequiel Monferrer/Ignacio Vinas (ORU) 4-4 unfinished
No. 2 Emiliano Gonzales/Tin Ostro (ILS) def. Ricardo Filho/Gustavo Pinho (ORU) 6-4
No. 3 Ming-Chieh Chiu/Nam Pham (ILS) def. Eli Brewer/Kevin Leuenberger (ORU) 6-3
Singles:
No. 1 Nam Pham (ILS) def. Ignacio Vinas (ORU) 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 2 Ezequiel Monferrer (ORU) def. Arvid Hjalte (ILS) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 Gustavo Pinho (ORU) def. Melker Isaksson (ILS) 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 Tomas Valencia (ILS) def. Jonathan Evans (ORU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Adrian Dibildox (ILS) def. Kevin Leuenberger (ORU) 6-0, 6-2
No. 6 Emiliano Gonzales (ILS) def. Ricardo Filho (ORU) 6-1, 6-7, 6-4
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