NORMAL, Ill.-- The Illinois State women's tennis team (10-6, 3-0 MVC) will hit the road for two consecutive matches against MVC opponents. 

The Red and White will travel to the Bluegrass State for a battle with the Murray State Racers (9-6, 2-0 MVC) at 2 p.m on Saturday, April 4 at Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts. The Birds will then travel east to Springfield as the Missouri State Bears (2-14, 1-1 MVC) will be waiting in the wings on Sunday, April 6. First serve will be at 11 a.m. inside Cooper Tennis Complex.

LAST TIME OUT

The Birds defeated the Drake Bulldogs (3-12, 0-3 MVC) by a score of 5-2 on Sunday (March. 30) inside Evergreen Racquet Club.

In doubles play, the Birds picked up the doubles point securing two victories at No. 1 and No. 2. Juniors Lana Caculovic (Dugo Selo, Croatia) and Silvia Pomarolli (Cecina, Italy) picked up a 6-3 win against Jessica Popiol and Laura Koralnik of the Bulldogs The pair of freshman Emma Lindh (Malmo, Sweden) and graduate student Elena Jankulovska (Skopje, Macedonia) battled to a narrow 6-4 victory.

As competition shifted to singles play, Illinois State received four wins over Drake. Pomarolli won in straight sets against Popiol 6-3, 7-6 (1) at No. 1. At the No. 2 position, Caculovic secured a 6-2, 6-1 win over Elizabete Klavinska. Nuria Sanz prevailed at No. 4 by a score of 6-2, 6-3. The final Redbird win of the day came thanks to freshman Nicole Iosio (Cordenons, Italy) as she defeated Nicole Lee 6-2, 6-2.

SCOUTING THE RACERS

Murray State is on a 12 match win streak against Missouri Valley Conference opponents since March 30, 2022. The last MVC loss for the Racers came to the Redbirds by a 7-0 final at Gregory Street Tennis Courts in Normal, Ill. This season, MSU is coming off a 7-0 victory over the Valparaiso Beacons on Sunday, March 30 in Murray Kentucky.

The Racers were led by the doubles pair of Bruna Melato and Valeria Chaikovskaia at No. 1. In singles competition, Chaikovskaia picked up a 6-2, 6-3 win over Valpo's Moira Silva.

SCOUTING THE BEARS

MoState's last victory came on March 22, as the Bears defeated the Valparaiso Beacons by a narrow 4-3 margin on the road. Missouri State was led by a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles from Tuana Gunal and Billie Gonlusen over Brynn Steven and Moira Silva of Valpo. In singles competition, Gonlusen picked up a win in straight sets by scores of 6-0, 7-5 against Jolene Fernandes of the Beacons.

UP NEXT

Illinois State will have a six day layoff before traveling to Valparaiso, Indiana for a dual with the Beacons on Saturday, April 12. First serve will be at 2:00 p.m. from Valparaiso.

FOLLOW THE REDBIRDS

For all the latest on Illinois State women's tennis, stay tuned to  GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on "X" (@RedbirdWTEN), Facebook (Illinois State Women's Tennis Team) and Instagram (redbirdwtennis).

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