McLean County Times

Illinois State men's tennis team began their 2025 spring season with a close match against Saint Joseph's University, ultimately falling 4-3. The Redbirds secured three singles victories and one doubles win during the competition.

In singles matches, junior Tomas Valencia achieved a straight-set victory over SJU's Agbo with scores of 6-3, 6-2. Junior Adrian Dibildox faced Ruy in a tiebreaker and emerged victorious with scores of 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), and 6-3. Freshman Finn Logue also contributed to the team's success by winning his match in three sets, scoring 6-3, 3-6, and 6-1. In doubles play, Dibildox and Logue defeated Gan-Dy and Butler from the Hawks with a score of 6-3.

Head coach Mark Klysner expressed mixed feelings about the match outcome. "Tonight was a tough one to take after we had match points on several courts but couldn't close it out. But give credit to the other team as they were just a little more match tough than us," Klysner said.

The detailed results for singles matches were as follows: Valencia defeated Agbo; Dibildox won against Ruy; Bezzaz beat Ostro; Valle overcame Leong; Dubas triumphed over Scarlett; and Logue defeated Cizmarik. In doubles matches: Ruy/Bezzaz won against Scarlett/Valencia; Agbo/Valle defeated Ostro/Capacci; while Dibildox/Logue claimed victory over Cizmarik/Dubas.

Looking ahead, Illinois State will face Marquette and Eastern Illinois University in a doubleheader scheduled for tomorrow at Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Illinois.

For ongoing updates on Illinois State men's tennis, fans can visit GoRedbirds.com or follow the team on social media platforms X (RedbirdMTEN) and Instagram (redbirdmtennis).