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Leathernecks Ready for In-State Foes

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

First serve begins at 5 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday

MACOMB, Ill. – Before opening up Summit League play, the Western Illinois women's tennis team takes on two in-state foes in Quincy on Friday (March 1) and Illinois State Saturday (March 2).
 
First serve on Friday is set for 5 p.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Western Illinois women's team was topped by Bradley 4-0 on Saturday (Feb. 23) at Clubs at River City.

Bradley jumped out to a 1-0 leader after securing the doubles points on 5-2, 6-0 victories in the No. 2 and 3 spots.
 
The start of singles play saw Anouk Maajong (No. 2) forced to retire due to an injury, giving the Braves a 2-0 advantage.  Bradley continued to increase the deficit on a 6-1, 6-0 win over Ana Bjelica in the No. 1 flight. Nikki Perlwitz clinched the dual match victory after a 6-3, 6-3 win over Megan Tagaloa in the No. 5 spot.

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.
 
THREE AMIGOS: Laura Ballesteros, Ana Bjelica and Mary Bjelica are the three lone returners from last season. The trio combined for a 7-3 record in League play last season and a 31-11 mark overall.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS: Quincy will host Western Illinois for their home opener and then travel to McKendree on Sunday (March 3). The Hawks continue non-league action with a 2-3 record overall and are coming off two straight losses to Saint Louis and Missouri Western State.
 
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS: Illinois State enters the weekend with a 6-2 record at home and 7-4 overall. The Redbirds began the spring slate with a five-match win streak. Most recently, ISU finished second in the Redbird Invitational after falling 4-1 to Toledo. Jana Kustkova leads the team in singles play with a 5-1 record this spring and has contributed to four victories in doubles play. 
 
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: WIU has a week to prepare before opening up Summit League play in Tulsa, Okla., to take on Oral Roberts (March 15) and North Dakota (March 17).
 
 
 
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