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Nikhita Simhambhatla
Sarah Twidwell

Rivalry Weekend

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois travels to rival Illinois State on Saturday (Feb. 8).

Match SEVEN

Who | Western Illinois (0-6)  at Illinois State (2-2)
When | Saturday, Feb. 8 at 11 a.m.
Where | Normal, Ill. 
Social Media | Twitter + Facebook #TRADITIONofTOUGH

First Serve | The Western Illinois women's tennis team travels to take on in-state rival Illinoi State on Saturday (Feb. 8). The two programs last took the court in 2016 when ISU edged WIU 7-0.  

The Hyden Era | On Aug. 12, Shawn Hyden was named the Western Illinois head women's tennis coach. Hyden comes from Earlham College, where he spent three years as the head men's and women's tennis coach.

During his tenure at Earlham, he led the women's tennis program to back-to-back Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament appearances in 2017 and 2018 – the first postseason berths in program history. Hyden also guided the men's tennis team to four consecutive appearances in the HCAC Tournament where they finished runners-up for the third straight season. 

Scouting ISU | The Redbirds are coming of a weekend spilt against Chicago State (7-0) and UIC (4-3) to own a .500 record, 2-2. Sophomore Tara Damnjanovic was named Missouri Valley Conference Singles Player of the week after a 2-0 record in the Windy City at No. 1.

Strong Start | Nikhita Simhambhatla has already shined to start her Leatherneck career. The freshman led the team in the fall with four victories in singles play. 

Lone Senior | In her final campaign as a Leatherneck, Laura Ballesteros was selected to The Summit League Player to Women's Tennis Preseason Athletes to Watch List.  In the fall season, Ballesteros posted a 3-2 record with wins at the Olivet Nazarene Invitational and the Cougar Invite. She has totaled 22 careers single victories with seven in Summit League play. Last season she shined at the Quincy Invite. Ballesteros won the No. 1 singles flight at the Quincy Invite and was part of the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles championships.

Fresh Five | Five new student-athletes joined the program for the 2019-20 season - Ericka Dawson, Lucky Kancherla, Nikhita Simhambhatla, Grace Stevens and Mara Vidal. 

Lucky Laura | Both Laura Ballesteros and Nikhita Kancherla teamed up in doubles play eight times in the fall season as the freshman and senior combination posted a 3-5 record. 

Up Next | Western Illinois continues the battles against in-state competition with SIUE on Wednesday (Feb. 12). 
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