Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Tennis Picked To Finish Ninth At MVC Championship
04/25/2002 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
April 25, 2002
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois University (4-12, 2-7 MVC) will face the University of Evansville (4-12, 2-6 MVC) on Friday morning in round one of the 2002 Men's Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championship in Springfield, Mo. this weekend.
SIU, the ninth seed, lost a 4-3 match to Evansville, the eighth seed, in the first MVC match of the year for both teams.
"I think we have an excellent chance against Evansville. We lost by one point to them earlier and we are a better team now than when we first met," said Missy Jeffrey, Saluki head coach.
"We want to use this tournament to show people that we are clearly better than our record shows. We've had some injuries keep us from winning a couple matches that would have changed our seeding position."
The Salukis also may have an advantage in the match. Evansville's #1 singles player, Anthony Wollschlager, suffered a broken hand when hit by a teammate in a #1 doubles match last week and supposedly will not play this weekend.
"That will change the lineup from the earlier matchup and weaken their team. I hope we can take advantage and play well enough to advance to the next round," added Jeffrey.
If the Salukis advance they will face top seed and #34 Indiana State (18-9, 8-0 MVC) on Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals.
"It's a tough draw if we beat Evansville. Indiana State beat us 6-0 at home last week and will pose a challenge for us, but we have nothing to lose and we are a capable team. We have no pressure and I hope we can all play our best match on the same day if we face them," stated Jeffrey.
The Salukis will be at full strength after defaulting in and retiring from some of their recent matches the last two weeks.
2002 MVC PRE CHAMPIONSHIP COACHES POLL
TEAM (1ST PLACE VOTES)
1. Indiana State (9)
2. Wichita State (1)
3. Illinois State
4. Drake
5. Northern Iowa
6. Creighton
7. SMS
8. Evansville
9. Southern Illinois
10. Bradley
