Redbirds Open MVC Play On The Road At Belmont & Murray State

NORMAL, Ill. – The hard work put in during the non-conference portion of the schedule will show its merits this weekend for the Illinois State women's tennis team, as the Redbirds open Missouri Valley Conference play with a pair of league contests at Belmont on Saturday and at Murray State on Sunday.

SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
•    The Redbirds (9-5) are competing for the first time since returning from their spring break trip in Hawaii, where they faced off against Hawaii and Pacific.
•    ISU has won its last seven MVC openers and have gone 17-1 in MVC play the past three seasons combined.
•    Senior Tijana Zlatanovic has twice earned Missouri Valley Conference Singles Player of the Week honors this spring, most recently after helping lead the Redbirds to a pair of wins against UIS and Marquette.
•    Zlatanovic is now 10-4 at the No. 1 spot this spring for the Redbirds, and she is joined at the top of the singles lineup by Lana Caculovic (11-3) at No. 2 and Nevena Kolarevic (11-2) at No. 3

SCOUTING THE BRUINS
•    Belmont (7-6) completed non-conference play with an impressive 6-1 victory over Alabama A&M on March 16.
•    The Bruins have earned the doubles' point in 10 of their 13 matches this spring.
•    Belmont has won two straight conference openers, including last year's MVC opener over Valparaiso. 
•    Vesa Gjinaj leads Belmont with a team-high 16 singles victories, while Maria Hlahola holds a 14-4 singles record.

SCOUTING THE RACERS
•    Murray State (7-5) will open MVC play against the Redbirds on Sunday, and head into the match having dropped their last three contests.
•    Just before their spring trip to the South Carolina, the Racers swept the weekly MVC honors.
•    Freshman Valeria Chaikovskaia earned Singles Player of the Week for the first time in her career, and seniors Sarah Bureau and Annika Pschorr earned Doubles Team of the Week honors for their performance in a win over Jacksonville State. 

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