MACOMB, Ill. – After having to play down a player last time out, the Western Illinois women's tennis team now fully recovered, opens up Summit League play at Oral Roberts on Friday (March 15) and continues Sunday (March 17) against North Dakota
The Leathernecks (3-5, 0-0) play both matches at the Bernis Duke Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. First serve is set for 4 p.m. against host ORU (1-11, 0-1) and 11 a.m. versus the Fighting Hawks (6-6, 0-0).
THE MIRKO REPORT: "We are definitely excited to begin our league play and have been working hard to prepare for it," said head coach Mirko Bjelica. "I hope that by the time the weekend rolls around we will all be feeling healthy and then give it our best effort."
LAST TIME OUT: WIU returns to the court for the first time in nearly two weeks after they split weekend action between Quincy (6-1) and rival Illinois State (0-4) while playing with only five players.
MAGIC IN TULSA: Last season two wins separated the Western Illinois team from earning a bid to the Summit League Tournament for only the third time in program history. In dramatic style and on the final League road trip of the season, the Leathernecks won both matches and clichéd a spot in the postseason tournament on a 6-1 victory over Oral Roberts.
FRESH FOUR: This season freshmen Anouk Maajong, Mia Melnizki, Camryn 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 victories both in the fall and spring. Tagaloa also was tagged as Summit League Preseason Watch List.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Oral Roberts hosts both North Dakota and Western Illinois for the weekend action. The Golden Eagles have already begun League play last weekend in Denver, where they lost 7-0. Ceijenia Cornelius and Brenda Mercado each lead the team with nine wins in singles play this spring.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS: The newest member of The Summit League plays its inaugural match against Oral Roberts on Saturday (March 16). North Dakota owns a 6-7 record and are a perfect 2-0 at home. Zahra Finnigan (11) and Preethi Kasilingma lead UND with double-digit victories in dual singles along with combining for 13 wins in doubles play. Overall the Fighting Hawks went 2-1 last season against Summit League schools.
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: Western then stops Summit League play to host USML on Wednesday (March 20) for the first home match of the spring and then gets back on the road to take on South Dakota (March 29) and Omaha (March 30)
