BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team had to work hard to keep its home spring record unblemished on Saturday, as the Redbirds battled to a 5-2 win over Chicago State at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington to move to 4-1 overall and 3-0 at home.
The Redbirds controlled the action in the doubles matches, sweeping all three contests to take the first point of the match. The No. 2 duo of Nevena Kolarevic and Silvia Pomarolli were the first to pick up a win via a 6-2 defeat of Ethel Li and Sofiya Sedovich. The doubles point was then clinched by the No. 1 team of Tijana Zlatanovic and Lana Caculovic who won their match against Nia Cooper and Manuella Eloundou by a score of 6-3. For good measure, the No. 3 tandem Zoe Limparis and Nuria Sanz closed things out with a 6-2 victory over Katarina Dukic and Amina Taibi.
ISU got off to a quick start in singles, as Zlatanovic cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Sedovich at the No. 1 spot to make it 2-0 in favor of ISU. However, wins by Chicago State at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots would then tie the match at 2-2 with three contests remaining on the courts.
A 6-1, 6-3 victory for Pomarolli over Amina Taibi at the No. 4 spot would then break the tie and give the Redbirds the lead. After rolling to a 6-0 win in set one, Kolarevic had to battle back after dropping set two to Eloundou at the No. 3 and took set three by a score of 6-3 to clinch the match for the Redbirds. A three-set win by Caculovic at the No. 2 spot would secure the final point of the match for the Redbirds to bring the score to its final at 5-2.
The Redbirds are back in action tomorrow, when they travel to St. Louis for a 5 p.m. match against Washington University.
FINAL SCORE: Illinois State (5), Chicago State (2)
Doubles:
No. 1 Lana Caculovic/Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) def. Nia Cooper/Manuella Eloundou (CSU) 6-3
No. 2 Nevena Kolarevic/Silvia Pomarolli (ILS) def. Ethel Li/Sofiya Sedovich (CSU) 6-2
No. 3 Zoe Limparis/Nuria Sanz (ILS) def. Katarina Dukic/Amina Taibi (CSU) 6-2
Singles:
No. 1 Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) def. Sofiya Sedovich (CSU) 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 Lana Caculovic (ILS) def. Katarina Dukic (CSU) 7-5, 1-6, 10-7
No. 3 Nevena Kolarevic (ILS) def. Manuella Eloundou (CSU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
No. 4 Silvia Pomarolli (ILS) def. Amina Taibi (CSU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 Ethel Li (CSU) def. Nuria Sanz (ILS) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 Nia Cooper (CSU) def. Sofia Rodrigo (ILS) 6-4, 6-1
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