MACOMB, Ill –The Western Illinois women's tennis team will play host to No. 43 Denver and Dubuque for a doubleheader on Saturday (April 13).Â
The Pioneers start the home opener at 10:30 a.m. and will also wrap up Summit League play. Action against the Spartans is at 3 p.m. Both matches will take place at the Western Illinois Tennis Facility, across from Western Hall.Â
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LAST TIME OUT: WIU took a break from League play and fell to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Missouri Tigers 4-0 on Sunday (April 7).Â
Western then was swept in the first three singles matches. Maajong 6-0, 6-2 at the No.4 and Melnizki 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 1 spot to the #124 ranked player in Macken Middlebrooks. The Tigers earned the dual match victory after Tagaloa lost 6-4, 6-0 in the No. 6 flight.Â
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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 PIONEERS: The five-time reigning Summit League champions enter the weekend 13-5, and 3-0 in League play. Ranked No. 43, the Pioneers have won both the regular season and tournaments titles each of the first five seasons they have been in the Summit. Senior Bianca Mok is ranked No. 104 for singles competition and has boosted a 12-2 record in the No. 1 flight. She also has been named Summit League Women's Tennis Athlete of the week three times this season.Â
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: The match between Dubuque is the inaugural meeting between both programs. The Spartans own a 5-9 record and are 2-6 in the American Rivers Conference. Senior Megan Ranney leads the way with eight wins in singles and has added four victories in doubles.Â
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 Illinois concludes the season at home against Lindenwood-St. Charles on April 20 with first serve at 1 p.m.
