OMAHA, Neb.-- The Illinois men's tennis team (4-13) fell by a narrow 4-3 margin against the Creighton Blue Jays (11-5) of the Big East Conference on Saturday at Hanscom Tennis Courts.
The Birds picked up three wins in singles play. At No. 1, Tomas Valencia (Santiago, Chile) defeated Candini of the Blue Jays by a score of 7-5, 6-2. Adrian Dibildox (Monterrey, Mexico) battled to a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Patel at No. 2. The final win of the day came thanks to Jett Leong (Melbourne, Australia) who took down Neil by scores of 7-5, 6-3.
DOUBLES-
No. 1- Ethan Neil/ Rocky McKenzie (CU) def. Tomas Valencia/Adrian Dibildox (ISU) 4-3
No. 2- Zachary Kuo/Kirtan Patel (CU) def. Tin Ostro/ Caden Scarlett (ISU) 6-2
No. 3- Alejandro Gandini/Yuma Daijima (CU) def. Christian Capacci/Manuel Pavia (ISU) 6-1
SINGLES-
No. 1- Tomas Valencia (ISU) def. Alejandro Gandini (CU) 7-5, 6-2
No. 2- Adrian Dibildox (ISU) def. Kirtan Patel (CU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
No. 3- Yuma Daijima (CU) def. Tin Ostro (ISU) 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3
No. 4- Rocky McKenzie (CU) def. Christian Capacci (ISU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 5- Jett Leong (ISU) def. Ethan Neil (ISU) 7-5, 6-3
No. 6- Max Stollecker (CU) def. Caden Scarlett (ISU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
UP NEXT-
ISU will have a quick turnaround as they play Omaha tomorrow at 1 p.m., the Birds will then travel to Des Moines for a March 26 matchup against the Drake Bulldogs. Illinois State will fly back to the nest as they host the high-powered Denver Pioneers on March 28 inside Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington.
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).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets; Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos, and more.
