NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's tennis team will have a busy weekend at home, as the Redbirds will host UIC on Friday and Saint Louis on Sunday for matches at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington. First serve against the Flames on Friday is set for 7:30 p.m., and Sunday's match with the Billikens will start at 4:30 p.m.
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
• Sophomore Christian Capacci was selected as a Summit League Player to Watch for 2026, after he compiled a 13-5 record in singles play (4-1 in Summit League) and won five consecutive Summit League matches from March 22-April 16.
• The doubles team of Tomas Valencia and Adrian Dibildox earned spots in the ITA Conference Masters Championships this fall, and Valencia also competed in the men's singles qualifier matches.
• The Redbirds (0-1) dropped a close 4-3 decision to Northern Illinois last week to open the spring season, however their scheduled contest against Butler was postponed due to travel issues from weather.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
• UIC (0-1) dropped its opener by a score of 4-3 to Youngstown State on Jan. 17 and will take on crosstown foe Chicago State on Thursday before traveling to take on the Redbirds on Friday.
• Last time out, the Flames dropped an exhibition match to UIndy despite a strong outing from all three UIC doubles pairings, sweeping all available doubles points against the Greyhounds.
SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS
• Saint Louis (0-3) is still looking for its first dual win of the season, after opening with three tough matches in Oklahoma against Texas Rio Grande Valley, Oral Roberts and Oklahoma State.
• Sunday's match with the first of two back-to-back against SLU, with a return match on Friday, Feb. 6, in St. Louis.
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