NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's tennis team has released its 2026 fall schedule, which features three team tournaments including two on campus in Normal.
The fall slate will begin at the Gregory Street Courts when the Redbirds host the annual Redbird Duals (Sept. 25-27), with Bradley, Butler and Valparaiso set to compete against the Redbirds. The following weekend, ISU will host the three-day Redbird Invitational (Oct. 2-4), where all MVC teams will compete in a flighted tournament. Both meets will take place outdoors and both home tournaments will have the Evergreen Racquet Club on standby in case of inclement weather. The fall season will conclude just down the road in Champaign, as the Redbirds compete in the ITA Regionals (Oct. 8-12) hosted by Illinois.
Illinois State was the No. 2 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships last season and won the conference tournament championship, defeating Drake 4-0 to advance to the NCAA Tournament at Michigan. The Redbirds return three student-athletes who have earned All-Valley honors, including 2026 MVC Freshman of the Year Freshman of the Year Vittoria Benedetti. In addition to her Freshman of the Year honors, Benedetti earned First-Team All-MVC honors at No. 3 singles. Nicole Iosio also earned First-Team All-MVC honors at the No. 2 doubles position for the Redbirds last year, and Emma Lindh earned All-MVC First Team accolades with partner Elena Jankulovska at No. 2 doubles in 2025.
The Redbirds will begin their spring dual-meet season in January, before starting Missouri Valley Conference play leading up to the 2026 MVC Women's Tennis Championships hosted by Illinois State from April 30 to May 2 in Normal.
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