Women's Tennis Continues MVC Play
04/07/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
April 7, 2004
By Dustin Thompson
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The women's tennis team will continue Missouri Valley Conference play as they will travel to Wichita State and Southwest Missouri State where they will try to improve their 7-9 (1-2 MVC) record.
The Salukis picked up their first MVC win as they defeated Bradley 6-1, but before the Dawgs were able to come away with their first win in the Valley they were handed two conference loses by Indiana State (4-3) and by Illinois State (6-1) last weekend.
While SIU is currently 1-2 in the MVC they hope that their trio of seniors can come through and lead the Dawgs to a winning season in the conference. In their first three MVC matches the three SIU seniors posted five wins, as Tana Trapani and Jessica Knitter picked up two wins a piece and Alejandra Blanco was able to post a solid victory at the No. 1 spot.
In doubles play the senior duo of Blanco and Trapani continued to add to their impressive 39-10 career doubles record, as they were able to come away with two victories to improve to 11-4 (2-1) on the year at the No. 2 doubles position.
The Salukis will begin the weekend with a match against the Shockers of Wichita State on Friday and will play their second match of the weekend in Springfield, Mo. on Saturday against the SMS Bears. Saturday's match up looks to be a tough one for the Salukis as they will face a red hot SMS team. The Bears have posted a solid 6-8 overall record, but are currently undefeated in MVC play with a flawless 4-0 record. The Bears had defeated Wichita State (6-1), Drake (4-3), Creighton (6-1) and Northern Iowa (7-0) in their first four matches in the Valley.
All results for this weekend's matches can be found at www.SIUSalukis.com