BLOOMINGTON, Ill.-- The Illinois State men's tennis team (4-7) defeated the Western Michigan Broncos (6-5) by a score of 5-2 on Sunday at Evergreen Racquet Club.
In singles play, the Redbirds received victories at No. 2 from Adrian Dibildox over WMU's Adesoro by scores of 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4. At No. 3, Tin Ostro bested Pierce 7-5, 1-6, 7-5. At No. 4, newcomer Christian Capacci secured a 7-5, 6-4 win in straight sets against Kajzer. Finally, Tom Bevan picked up a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Antonopoulos.
In doubles play, ISU picked up wins courtesy of the No. 1 and No.3 doubles pairings. At No. 1, Tomas Valencia and Adrian Dibildox defeated Pierce and Davison of the Broncos by a 6-4 final. Tin Ostro and Caden Scarlett tallied the second win of the day at No. 3 over Adesoro and Corwin by a score of 6-4.
Head coach Mark Klysner was proud of the resilience from the Birds against a talented Western Michigan squad. "What a match, a four hour battle and I couldn't be more proud of the guys. WMU is a front-runner to win the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and consistently is ranked, so this is a huge win for us and one that we needed. We've had some close matches which we could or should have won and so it's a nice feeling to get this one." Klysner said.
Doubles:
No. 1- Valencia/Dibildox (ISU) def. Pierce/Davison (WMU) 6-4
No. 2- Arzhankin/Evans (WMU) def. Bevan/Capacci (ISU) 1-6
No. 3- Tin Ostro/ Caden Scarlett (ISU) def. Adesoro/Corwin (WMU) 6-4
Singles:
No. 1- Arzhankin (WMU) def. Tomas Valencia (ISU) 6-4, 6-1
No. 2- Adrian Dibildox (ISU) def. Adesoro (WMU) 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4
No. 3- Tin Ostro (ISU) def. Pierce (WMU) 7-5, 1-6, 7-5
No. 4- Christian Capacci (ISU) def. Kajzer (WMU) 7-5, 6-4
No. 5- Corwin (WMU) def. Caden Scarlett (ISU) 4-6, 4-6
No. 6- Tom Bevan (ISU) def. Antonopoulos (WMU) 6-1, 6-1
UP NEXT-
Illinois State travels to Madison, Wis. to face the Badgers of the University of Wisconsin-Madison inside Nielsen Tennis Stadium on Wednesday, Feb.19. The Birds will stay on the road as they head to Lafayette, Ind, to take on the Purdue Boilermakers on Feb. 23.
FOLLOW THE REDBIRDS-
For all the latest on Illinois State men's tennis, stay tuned to GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on "X" (RedbirdMTEN) and Instagram (redbirdmtennis).
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