MACOMB, Ill. – After stopping an early two-match skid, the Western Illinois women's tennis team makes a nearby stop to take battle the Bradley Braves on Saturday (Feb. 23).
The Leathernecks (2-3) and Braves (6-2) play the non-league match at Clubs at River City with first serve at noon. Last season the Braves just outlasted WIU in a 4-3 victory.
LAST TIME OUT: The Western Illinois women's tennis team swept St. Ambrose 7-0 Friday night (Feb. 15) in Davenport, Iowa in its second neutral match site of the season.
The Purple and Gold carried the momentum into singles play and remained perfect.
Ana Bjelica remained perfect (2-0) in dual matches this spring and beat Horton 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 1 flight. The sophomore is now 13-3 in dual matches in her career. Mary Bjelica (No. 2) limited Elizabeth Bush to just one point in each set in a 6-1. 6-1 victory to put Western up 4-0 and clinched the match.
Both Camryn Rossa and Ballesteros shutout their matchups 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 3 and 5 spots. Tagaloa rounded out singles by 6-1, 6-0 win in No. 4 singles over Housenga.
FRESH FOUR: This season freshmen Anouk Maajong, Mia Melnizki, Rossa and Megan Tagaloa all suit up for the Purple and Gold for the first time to make their college debuts. All four have already earned their first collegiate victory this past fall. Tagaloa also was tagged as Summit League Preseason Watch List.
SCOUTING THE BRAVES: Bradley will host Western Illinois and Chicago State for weekend action. The Braves continue non-league action with a 4-2 record at home and are coming off a 4-1 win over SIUE on Sunday (Feb. 17). Leading the charge in singles are Sophomore Sandra Maletin (No. 1) and Freshman Bozana Lojpur, (No.2) each notching six victories this spring already.
COACHING SUCCESS: Fourth-year head coach Mirko Bjelica looks to keep the trend of improving each season. Last year, he coached the Leathernecks to a 10-8 overall record and 2-2 mark in Summit League play to earn a bid to the postseason tournament for the first time in four years. Bjelica has added more wins to the program each season and helped snap 34-match conference losing streak.
ITA RECOGNITION: In the classroom last year, women's tennis recorded the highest term grade point averages in the Leatherneck Athletic Department. The team boasted a 3.816 GPA in the spring semester with three student-athletes posting a perfect 4.0 GPA. For their efforts, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association named Western Illinois an all-academic team while individually acknowledging Ballesteros, Ana Bjelica and Mary Bjelica as ITA scholar-athletes.
UP NEXT: Two more matches remain the Leathernecks' final test before the start of Summit League play as the Purple & Gold travels to Quincy (March 1) and Illinois State (March 2).
