Gregory Street Tennis Courts | Illinois State University Athletics
Gregory Street Tennis Courts | Illinois State University Athletics
The Illinois State men's tennis team secured a victory against the Drake Bulldogs with a 4-3 win in Des Moines, Iowa. The match took place at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center on Wednesday.
Illinois State's head coach, Mark Klysner, expressed satisfaction with his team's performance. "Holy, what a match. This is what conference play is all about. We have struggled all year in doubles and today we might have saved the best for last. It was a huge point to win and gave us such momentum going into the singles. Every guy gave everything they had. Shoutout to Tomas (Valencia) for the deciding clinch," said Klysner.
In doubles play, Illinois State swept all matches. Tomas Valencia from Santiago, Chile, and Adrian Dibildox from Monterrey, Mexico, won their match 7-5 against Will Ecklund and Benjamin Johnson. Caden Scarlett of Evansville, Indiana, and Tin Ostro of Zagreb, Croatia also won 7-5 in their match. Freshmen Christian Capacci from Forlimpopoli, Italy, and Manuel Pavia from Lana, Italy claimed a 6-4 victory over Jose Alessandro Hernandez and Adan Tarquino.
The singles competition saw three wins for Illinois State. Valencia secured a win against Christian Winstead with scores of 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Capacci defeated Logan Tomovski in straight sets with scores of 6-4, 6-4. Scarlett achieved a final win by defeating Adan Tarquino in a close match with scores of 6-4, 7-6 (3).
The Illinois State team will next face the Denver Pioneers at home on March 28 and then compete against St. Louis University Billikens on March 29 at Evergreen Racquet Club.
For updates on Illinois State men's tennis, visit GoRedbirds.com or follow the team on social media platforms under RedbirdMTEN.
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