BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois State men's tennis team returned home for the first time in a month on Wednesday and resumed Summit League play against Drake. In what was a thrilling contest between two undefeated teams in the league, it was the Redbirds who came away with a 4-3 victory over the Bulldogs at the Evergreen Racquet Club to improve to 2-0 in conference play.
"What a match we played today. This battle embodied what college tennis is all about," ISU head coach Mark Klysner said. "Winning the doubles point was massive and probably the best we've played all year. Credit to our guys in the singles matches for not letting up and closing out a crazy match and shout out to Tin Ostro for a huge clinch for us. I am just thrilled with this performance."
The match began with a battle in doubles action, as ISU took the early advantage thanks to a 6-3 win by Arvid Hjalte and Nam Pham over Drake's Markus Bolin and Matija Matic at the No. 2 spot. The Redbirds then clinched the doubles point when the No. 3 duo of Caden Scarlett and Tomas Valencia took down Jeremy Schifris and O. Sonesson Lidholt by a score of 6-3 as the match on court No. 1 was left unfinished in a 5-5 tie.
Drake would then take the lead as singles action began, as wins at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots would give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the match. Pham then tied the match at 2-2 when he beat Schifris by a score of 7-6, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot and ISU would take the lead at 3-2 when Emiliano Gonzalez defeated Matt Clegg in three sets by a final of 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 at the No. 5 spot.
A win on court No. 2 by Drake would then tie the match at 3-3, leaving the decision to court No. 6 where Ostro and Drake's Aaron Dawson were engaged in a back-and-forth contest. Ostro took the first set in a close 7-5 decision, before Dawson took the second set 6-4 to send the match to a third and deciding set. That's when Ostro buckled down and came away with a 6-3 win in set No. 3 to take the match and secure the 4-3 victory for the Redbirds.
Illinois State is back in action on Saturday, when the Redbirds travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on the No. 65 ranked Huskers at 6 p.m. at the Dillon Tennis Center.
FINAL SCORE: Illinois State (4), Drake (3)
Doubles:Â
No. 1 Emiliano Gonzalez/Tin Ostro (ILS) vs. Matt Clegg/Oliver Johansson (DRAKE) 5-5 unfinished
No. 2 Arvid Hjalte/Nam Pham (ILS) def. Markus Bolin/Matija Matic (DRAKE) 6-3
No. 3 Caden Scarlett/Tomas Valencia (ILS) def. Jeremy Schifris/O. Sonesson Lidholt (DRAKE) 6-3
Singles:
No. 1 Nam Pham (ILS) def. Jeremy Schifris (DRAKE) 7-6, 6-2
No. 2 Oliver Johansson (DRAKE) def. Arvid Hjalte (ILS) 7-5, 6-7, 6-3
No. 3 Matija Matic (DRAKE) def. Adrian Dibildox (ILS) 7-5, 6-4
No. 4 Markus Bolin (DRAKE) def. Tomas Valencia (ILS) 7-6, 6-3
No. 5 Emiliano Gonzalez (ILS) def. Matt Clegg (DRAKE) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
No. 6 Tin Ostro (ILS) def. Aaron Dawson (DRAKE) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
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