Leathernecks Resume Summit League Play

Wednesday, March 27, 2019 | By: WIU Athletic Communications

WIU takes on South Dakota Friday and Omaha Saturday

MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois women's tennis team jumps back on the road to resume Summit League play against South Dakota on Friday (March 29) and Saturday (March 30) at Omaha.

First serve is set for 1:00 p.m. against the Coyotes and noon versus the Mavericks.

LAST TIME OUT: Western has not seen action since March 17, when they began Summit League play in Tulsa, Okla., and lost to North Dakota 7-0, and were edged 5-2 to host 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.

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 COYOTES: Over the weekend South Dakota will host Oral Roberts and Western Illinois as they begin Summit League this spring. The Coyotes are 5-7 overall and are on a four-match win streak. Nanette Nylund leads the way with seven wins in dual singles, and also added four doubles victories this spring.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: Omaha host both WIU and Oral Roberts as they aim to snap a nine match-losing streak. The Mavericks are 0-1 in League play after falling to Denver 7-0 on March 15. Senior Janelle Wilson has notched a team-leading five single wins and five doubles victories.

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 then takes on Missouri (April 7) after the originally scheduled match was canceled due to rain.

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