HONOLULU – After several days of practice and time to enjoy the sights of Oahu, the Illinois State women's tennis team was back in action Wednesday night against Hawai'i at the UH Tennis Complex. The match was close throughout, however ISU dropped a close 4-3 decision to their hosts on the first night of the Rainbow Wahine Spring Invitational.
"We had a great start in doubles and gave ourselves a chance, but we made too many errors in singles against a good team like Hawai'i," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "We'll look to bounce back tomorrow morning and close out the trip on a good note."
The Redbirds took the early advantage, winning the doubles point thanks to wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. The top tandem of Lana Caculovic and Tijana Zlatanovic defeated Ana Vilcek and Nikola Homolkova by a final of 6-4 and the No. 2 duo of Nevena Kolarevic and Silvia Pomarolli picked up a 6-3 victory over Sheena Masuda and Nelly Knezkova to secure the first point of the match.
However, the momentum shifted to Hawai'i in singles action, as the Rainbow Wahine picked up wins at the No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 spots to secure the 4-3 victory over the Redbirds. ISU got its points thanks to a win at No. 3 by Kolarevic by way of retirement of her opponent in the second set and a victory at the No. 4 spot by Pomorolli in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, against Hannah Galindo.
The Redbirds return to the courts tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. CT against Pacific as they wrap up their time in the Aloha State.
FINAL SCORE: Hawai'i (4), Illinois State (3)
Doubles:
No. 1 Lana Caculovic/Tijana Zlatanovic (ISU) def. Ana Vilcek/Nikola Homolkova (HAW) 6-4
No. 2 Nevena Kolarevic/Silvia Pomarolli (ISU) def. Sheena Masuda/Nelly Knezkova (HAW) 6-3
No. 3 Anna Kern/Joelle Lanz (HAW) def. Zoe Limparis/Nuria Sanz (ISU) 6-3
Singles:
No. 1 Ana Vilcek (HAW) def. Tijana Zlatanovic (ISU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 Nelly Knezkova (HAW) def. Lana Caculovic (ISU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 Nevena Kolarevic (ISU) def. Nikola Homolkova (HAW) 0-6, 5-4 retired
No. 4 Silvia Pomarolli (ISU) def. Hannah Galindo (HAW) 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 Sheena Masuda (HAW) def. Nuria Sanz (ISU) 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 Joelle Lans (HAW) def. Sofia Rodrigo (ISU) 6-2, 6-2
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