Southern Illinois University
Illinois State
Men's Tennis swept by Illinois State, 4-0
04/24/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
April 24, 2010
By Michael Benson
www.SIUSalukis.com
WICHITA, Kan. - The Saluki men's tennis team's season came to an end Saturday, as they were swept by the Illinois State Redbirds, 4-0, in the semifinals of the MVC Tennis Championship.
Southern Illinois finishes the season with an overall record of 7-13.
"We looked really good in doubles today," said Saluki head coach Dann Nelson. "Mpilo and Falk were doing well in their match and Mpilo and Brandon played well in singles. It was our third consecutive appearance in the MVC tournament semifinals. There are a lot of positive things to take out of this."
From the start, the Salukis struggled against their top-seeded in-state rivals, who move on to the championship match Sunday to face Wichita State.
Southern was in an early hole after Illinois State took the doubles point, as Brandon Florez and Chikara Kidera fell to Alexander Pelaez and Michael Hobson, 8-6. In addition, Orhan Spahic and Anton Leonenko were dropped by Skip Span and Filip Miljevic, 8-1.
In singles, Leonenko played in his final collegiate match, as he fell to the Redbirds' Xavier Riart-Ferrer 6-1, 6-0.
Meanwhile, Falk De Beenhouwer was defeated by Alexander Pelaez 6-3, 6-1, while Kidera fell to Skip Span 6-2, 6-2.
Players Mentioned
