ISU defeated both schools last season.
Jan. 28, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's tennis team will host two home matches Saturday at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill., against Horizon League schools Butler and UIC.
The Redbirds enter this weekend's action after a successful showing last weekend that saw the `Birds take home four titles at the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships. Alexander Pelaez, Filip Miljevic, Tuomas Manner, and Matej Zlatkovic all took home hardware for the Redbrids.
With a squad that looks to be rounding into form, head coach Cris James knows that his team needs to build off last weekend's success.
"We want to win every match when we step on to the court," James said. "We had a lot of success last weekend, but there were still moments in some of our matches where we didn't have the toughness that we needed. We need to continue to improve and battle through our tough situations."
Over the past few years, the Redbirds have squared off against the Bulldogs and the Flames, and James knows what to expect from the opponents.
"We know both teams pretty well," James said. "Butler is a well-coached team that always competes and plays well in doubles. We got to see UIC in one of our fall tournaments last year, so we have an idea of how they're going to compete, but even though we're familiar with both teams, we need to come ready to play hard Saturday."
The Redbirds will take on Butler at 2:30 p.m. CST, followed by UIC at 6:30 p.m. CST. ISU junior Skip Span will be returning to action after a shoulder injury.
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