Redbirds Drop Close Match To Marshall, 4-3

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Saturday's tennis match was as close as they come at the Evergreen Racquet Club, with Illinois State (5-2) coming up just short against Marshall (9-3) in a non-conference matchup by a final score of 4-3.

"That was as close as it gets and I'm really proud of the way we fought," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "Every point was hard earned and we have to hand it to Marshall for playing a great tie breaker at the end of the deciding match."

The all-important doubles point went to the Thundering Herd, who picked up wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots despite ISU taking the win at No. 1 thanks to a 6-3 win by Tijana Zlatanovic and Lana Caculovic.

In singles action, the Redbirds were strong at the top as Zlatanovic defeated Johanna Strom by a final of 6-2, 6-3 to pick up a point. Caculovic also picked up a win at the No. 2 spot by a score of 6-3, 6-4 over Emma Vanderheyden and Nevena Kolarevic secured a victory at the No. 3 spot in straight sets over Doroteja Joksovic 7-5, 6-3.

However, Marshall battled to hard-fought three-set wins at the No. 4 and No. 6 spots and a straight-set win at No. 5 would give the Thundering Herd the 4-3 win.

Illinois State will travel to Chicago on Sunday for a match with DePaul at 12:30 p.m.

FINAL SCORE: Marshall (4), Illinois State (3)

Doubles: 
No. 1 Lana Caculovic/Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) def. Johanna Strom/Emma Vanderheyden (MAR) 6-3
No. 2 Doroteja Joksovic/Aisling McGrane (MAR) def. Nevena Kolarevic/Silvia Pomarolli (ILS) 6-4
No. 3 Gabrielle Clairotte/Sophia Hurrion (MAR) def. Zoe Limparis/Nuria Sanz (ILS) 6-3

Singles:
No. 1 Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) def. Johanna Strom (MAR) 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 Lana Caculovic (ILS) def. Emma Vanderheyden (MAR) 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Nevena Kolarevic (ILS) def. Doroteja Joksovic (MAR) 7-5, 6-3
No. 4 Sophia Hurrion (MAR) def. Silvia Pomarolli (ILS) 6-0, 2-6, 7-6
No. 5 Rieke Gillar (MAR) def. Nuria Sanz (ILS) 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Aisling McGrane (MAR) def. Sofia Rodrigo (ILS) 6-7, 6-2, 6-0

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