Wins Pile Up On First Day Of Redbird Invitational

NORMAL, Ill. – It was a successful first day at the Redbird Invitational for the Illinois State women's tennis team, as it combined to sweep every doubles match and win all but one singles matchup on Friday at the Gregory Street Courts in Normal.

"I thought today was a great start to our season," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "I'm especially happy with doubles, the energy was great and picking up three wins with three new teams is very encouraging."

The day began with doubles action, with all three new Redbird doubles combinations coming away with wins. In Flight 1, Tijana Zlatanovic and Lana Caculovic picked up an 8-5 victory and in Flight 2, Nevena Kolarevic and Silvia Pomarolli cruised to an 8-3 win. Then in Flight 3, the newcomer duo of Nuria Sanz and Sofia Rodrigo battled to an 8-7 win over Bertino/Fernandez of Valparaiso.

In singles action, senior Zlatanovic rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 victory in Flight 1 and reigning MVC Freshman of the Year Kolarevic won in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 in Flight 2 to advance to the semifinals on Saturday. Newcomer Caculovic picked up her first victory as a Redbird, defeating Michelle Kostadinova of Eastern Illinois by a score of 6-1, 6-1 in Flight 3 andPomarolli picked up a straight-set win in Flight 4 to advance in the winner's bracket.

Day two of the Redbird Invitational begins at 9 a.m. Saturday morning with doubles once again, followed by singles in the afternoon.

RESULTS:

Flight 1 Doubles:
Zlatanovic/Caculovic (ISU) def. Degeorges/Ma (UST) 8-5

Flight 2 Doubles:
Kolarevic/Pomarolli (ISU) def. Eloundor/Cooper (CSU) 8-3

Flight 3 Doubles:
Sanz/Rodrigo (ISU) def. Bertino/Fernandez (Valpo) 8-7 (4)

Flight 1 Singles:
Tijana Zlatanovic (ISU) def. Katarina Dukic (CSU) 6-3, 6-2

Flight 2 Singles:
Nevena Kolarevic (ISU) def. Jannah El Nemr (UST) 6-1, 6-4

Flight 3 Singles:
Lana Caculovic (ISU) def. Michelle Kostadinova (EIU) 6-1, 6-1

Flight 4 Singles: 
Silvia Pomarolli (ISU) def. Caroline Lindahl (UST) 6-0, 6-3

Flight 5 Singles:
Elizabeth Sobieski (Valpo) def. Nuria Sanz (ISU) 7-6(3), 7-5

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:  Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.