McLean County Times

The Redbird men's tennis team is set to commence their 2024-25 season at the River Forest Collegiate Tennis Invitational. The event, hosted by Northern Illinois University, will take place over two days this weekend.

The tournament schedule includes a round of doubles matches on Friday morning starting at 9 a.m., followed by two rounds of singles in the afternoon. On Saturday, the final two rounds of doubles will be played before concluding with singles competition at 1 p.m. Matches will occur at both the River Forest Tennis Club and Oak Park Tennis Center.

Competing teams include DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Marquette, Northern Illinois, UIC, and Western Michigan. The tournament is open to the public and will be held on clay courts.

The Redbirds ended their previous season with a record of 14-14 overall and were notably strong at home with an 8-1 record. Returning players include Tin Ostro and Adrian Dibildox, who form the No. 1 doubles pair. Head coach Mark Klysner enters his twelfth season with ISU.

DePaul's Blue Demons finished last season with a 14-10 record and welcome freshman Thomas Giles to their roster under head coach Matt Brothers. The Huskies from Northern Illinois concluded their season with an 18-6 record; they are led by Rene Vidal in his second year as head coach.

Marquette's Golden Eagles had a challenging previous season with a 4-17 record but bring back three upperclassmen for Jud Shaufler's fifteenth year as head coach. Western Michigan's Broncos completed last season at 17-6 under Dave Morin's leadership.

Eastern Illinois Panthers ended last year with a 3-19 record and have Robin Cambier returning for his second year as director of tennis. UIC Flames wrapped up their season at 10-11 overall; Jovan Parlic continues as head coach into his third year.

WashU Bears recorded a strong performance last year with a 13-2 record under Roger Follmer's guidance in his twenty-fourth season.

Following this weekend’s invitational, the Redbirds will host the Annual Redbird Invitational from September 20-22 before traveling to Tulsa for the ITA All-American Championships later in September.

For updates on Illinois State men's tennis, visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them on social media platforms "X" (RedbirdMTEN) and Instagram (redbirdmtennis).