Chicago City Wire

The Chicago State men's and women's tennis teams swept to a pair of victories over Eastern Illinois Friday afternoon at the Danville Tennis Center in Danville, Illinois by identical 6-1 scores. The men took the court first and earned their first win of the season coming against a Horizon League foe with a convincing win over the Panthers. The Cougars took the doubles point by a pair of 6-3 scores at No. 1 and 3 then picked up consecutive singles victories at No. 1, 2, and 3 to clinch the team win then won two of the remaining three matches for the 6-1 final. 

The women's team trailed in two doubles matches but rallied to win both remaining contests for an early 1-0 lead then won the first three singles match to clinch the win, eventually winning five of the six singles matchups.

"It was a good day for both teams," head coach Jack Barton said. "It's nice to get a win before we start conference play. They really played well today.  Hats off to both teams for their efforts. The men had several chances to win in at least five matches but we couldn't finish. We have a young team, so the growing pains were tough but I think today's win was due in part to the disappointments we had earlier. I feel good about the start of conference play.  We can't take any team lightly on the men's side. Every match is going to be super tough. I'm hoping we can catch a little fire to start next week against NKU and IUPUI.

"The girls really stayed in this match mentally. This was a big improvement from last week. Doubles has been a sore spot for us but today we were down on courts one and two after losing court three and the ladies really took advantage of the momentum shift. We pulled out the doubles point and then we really locked in. EIU gave us some problems on the top four courts in singles, but the ladies stayed focused and didn't get rattled.

"I think the women have great chance to win conference. It will not be easy. Youngstown State and Cleveland State are the favorites, but I think it's anyone's to win. I think we're considered a sleeper but the ladies believe they can win it and, at the end of the day, it only matters what they think."

Compete results listed below.

The men's tennis team will be back on the court next week with a pair of road conference matches, taking on Northern Kentucky on Saturday, March 18 then IUPUI on Sunday, March 19 in Indianapolis. The women's next match will be at home April 1 against Oakland University.

Men's Tennis
Chicago State vs Eastern Illinois
3/10/2023 at Danville, Ill.
(Danville Tennis Center)

Chicago State 6, Eastern Illinois 1

Singles competition
1. Pedro Alvarez (CSU-M) def. Cameron Slabbert (EIU-M) 6-0, 6-0
2. Hugo Hidalgo Vega (CSU-M) def. Pau Riera (EIU-M) 6-2, 6-4
3. Max Sandoval (CSU-M) def. Tyler Carlin (EIU-M) 7-5, 6-4
4. Rodrigo Alves (CSU-M) def. Alex Dinkov (EIU-M) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 10-7
5. Thomas Wallace (EIU-M) def. Arhaan Pahwa (CSU-M) 6-1, 6-3
6. Percy Siercke (CSU-M) def. Antonio A. Streubel (EIU-M) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. Max Sandoval/Pedro Alvarez (CSU-M) def. Cameron Slabbert/Thomas Wallace (EIU-M) 6-3
2. Pau Riera/Alex Dinkov (EIU-M) vs. Arhaan Pahwa/Rodrigo Alves (CSU-M) 4-4, unfinished
3. Hugo Hidalgo Vega/Percy Siercke (CSU-M) def. Tyler Carlin/M. Pilipovic-Kljajic (EIU-M) 6-3

Match Notes:
Chicago State 1-11
Eastern Illinois 4-6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,2,3,4,5,6)


Women's Tennis
Chicago State vs Eastern Illinois
3/10/2023 at Danville, Ill.
(Danville Tennis Center)

Chicago State 6, Eastern Illinois 1

Singles competition
1. Kristina Pukhaeva (CSU) def. Christine Gouws (EIU-W) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. Katarina Dukic (CSU) def. E. Bukraba-Ulanova (EIU-W) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
3. Sofiya Sedovich (CSU) def. Jemma Booth (EIU-W) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
4. Manuella Eloundou-Ng (CSU) def. Brittany Steven (EIU-W) 7-5, 6-2
5. Madeline Monroy (EIU-W) def. Ethel Li (CSU) 3-6, 6-3, 10-3
6. Amina Taibi (CSU) def. Lauren Ellis (EIU-W) 6-0, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Kristina Pukhaeva/Sofiya Sedovich (CSU) def. Addison Brown/Christine Gouws (EIU-W) 7-5
2. Katarina Dukic/Ethel Li (CSU) def. Madeline Monroy/Brittany Steven (EIU-W) 7-5
3. E. Bukraba-Ulanova/Lauren Ellis (EIU-W) def. Amina Taibi/Manuella Eloundou-Ng (CSU) 6-2

Match Notes:
Chicago State 8-11
Eastern Illinois 7-8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,3,2,1,5,6)

About Chicago State Athletics
Chicago State University Athletics is composed of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. 

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Original source can be found here.