OMAHA, Neb.-- Illinois State men's tennis (4-12) will hit the road as the Birds travel to Omaha for a weekend doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday sees the Redbirds face off against Big East foe, the Creighton Blue Jays (10-5). ISU will open up Summit League play against the Omaha Mavericks (7-8, 1-0 SUMMIT) on Sunday.
Head coach Mark Klysner is looking eager to open up the Summit League schedule. "I am looking forward to getting the conference schedule going. It's what we train for and prepare for and this first one against Omaha should be a good one," Klysner said.
LAST TIME OUT
The Birds dropped a road match at Lipscomb University in Nashville, 5-2, on March 8. The Bison claimed the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3. In singles play, the Birds battled for two victories at No. 1 and No. 3. At No. 1 Adrian Dibildox played to a three-set win against Szymczak of Lipscomb University by scores of 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. At No. 3, Christian Capacci won in a three set tie-breaker against the Bison's Lombisano, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8).
SCOUTING THE BLUE JAYS
Creighton fell to Cal Poly of the Big West Conference, 5-2, on March 11. The Blue Jays picked up wins at the No. 1 doubles position as Ethan Neil and Rocky McKenzie defeated Raz Haviv / Sean Kamyshev of the Mustangs by a score of 6-4. The No. 3 doubles pair for the Blue Jays of Yuma Daijima and Alejandro Gandini battled to a 7-6 win over Sean Ferguson/Aaron Eliscu.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Omaha will bring momentum into this weekend's match after defeating Oral Roberts 5-2 to open up conference play before falling to Queens (4-1) on March 17 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Despite the defeat, the pair of Mikhail Korkunov and Bryan Kuntz picked up the lone doubles win for the Mavericks.
UP NEXT
ISU will have a quick turnaround as they return to action on March 26 against the Drake Bulldogs in Des Moines. The Birds will fly back to the nest as they host the high-powered Denver Pioneers on March 28 inside Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington.
FOLLOW THE REDBIRDS
For all the latest on Illinois State men's tennis, stay tuned to GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on "X" (RedbirdMTEN) and Instagram (redbirdmtennis).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets; Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos, and more.
