Southern Illinois University
Illinois State
Illinois State eliminates Women's Tennis from MVC Tournament
04/24/2010 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
April 24, 2010
By Michael Benson
www.SIUSalukis.com
WICHITA, Kan.-The Saluki women's tennis team's hopes of their first conference title since 1985 were dashed Saturday in Wichita, Kan., as Illinois State swept Southern Illinois, 4-0.
The loss was the second consecutive season that the Dawgs were eliminated in the semifinals.
"We struggled today in doubles, but bounced back and played some really tight matches in singles," said Saluki head coach Audra Nothwehr. "But Illinois State was just solid today. I am proud of how we fought. We were up or tied in all three unfinished matches."
The Salukis failed to capture a win in any of their matches on the day. The last time this happened was March 10, when the squad was swept by Tulane, 7-0.
The match started on a down note, as Southern was unable to take the doubles point. Melanie Delsart and Martina Vianna Ce were downed in top doubles by Julia Zubkova and Franziska Steinhardt, 8-4, while Michela Cruise and Anastacia Simons fell to Carmen Peters and Hannah Esker, 8-4.
Unfortunately for the Salukis, things didn't improve from there.
The closest of the three singles matches that finished was at No. 5 singles, as Vianna Ce and Illinois State's Ariane Maack dueled to a first set tiebreak. However, Maack outdid the senior Saluki en route to a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 win.
In other action, Jennifer Dien was bested by Julia Zubkova 6-3, 6-1 and Vishakha Sheoran was topped by Natalia Lech 6-2, 6-0.
The Salukis finish the season with a mark of 15-9 overall.
Players Mentioned
