INDIANAPOLIS – In its final non-conference match before starting Summit League play, Illinois State (7-10) picked up a hard-fought 4-3 road win on Saturday afternoon against Butler at the Indianapolis Racquet Club East.
The Redbirds took the early advantage, securing the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. The top tandem of Tomas Valencia and Adrian Dibildox cruised to a 6-2 win over Butler's Nicolas Arts and Rahulniket Konakanchi for the first win of the match. The No. 2 duo of Tin Ostro and Caden Scarlett defeated Riccardo Baldi and Arnesh Singh in a tiebreaker by a score of 7-6 (4) to secure the doubles point.
In singles play, Butler was able to secure wins on courts 1, 4, and 6, but the Redbirds were able to take victories on the other three courts to pick up the close win. At the No. 2 spot, Adrian Dibildox took down Rahulniket Konakanchi in straight sets 7-6 (4), 6-1. Christian Capacci rolled to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Nicolas Arts at the No. 3 spot and Jett Leong defeated Nicholas Balthazor by a final of 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 5 spot to help the Redbirds pick up their third-straight win.
The Redbirds open Summit League play on Wednesday, April 1, when they host Drake.
FINAL SCORE: Illinois State (4), Butler (3)
Doubles
No. 1 Tomas Valencia/Adrian Dibildox (ISU) def. Nicolas Arts/Rahulniket Konakanchi (BUT) 6-2
No. 2 Tin Ostro/Caden Scarlett (ISU) def. Riccardo Baldi/Arnesh Singh (BUT) 7-6 (4)
No. 3 Siddhartha Lama/Nicholas Balthazor (BUT) def. Christian Capacci/Manuel Pavia (ISU) 7-5
Singles
No. 1 Riccardo Baldi (BUT) def. Tomas Valencia (ISU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 Adrian Dibildox (ISU) def. Rahulniket Konakanchi (BUT) 7-6 (4), 6-1
No. 3 Christian Capacci (ISU) def. Nicolas Arts (BUT) 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 Siddhartha Lama (BUT) def. Tin Ostro (ISU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 Jett Leong (ISU) def. Nicholas Balthazor (BUT) 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 Nicholas Shirley (BUT) def. Manuel Pavia (ISU) 6-3, 6-4
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