PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley Tennis will take a winning record and four wins in the last five matches into the first conference match of the season, hosting I-74 rival Illinois State Saturday. As of Friday morning, the match will be played at 11 a.m. indoors at The Clubs at River City due to inclement weather.
BRADLEY NECESSITIES
Date | Time: Saturday, March 27, 2021 | 11 a.m.
Teams: Illinois State (12-7, 0-0 MVC) at Bradley (5-4, 0-0 MVC)
Location: Peoria, IL | The Clubs at River City
Live Stats: BradleyBraves.com
Twitter Updates: @BradleyUTennis
SERIES HISTORY | LAST MEETING
- Illinois State boasts a winning record in the rivalry, 38-10 dating back to 1977.
- The Braves and Redbirds last met during the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Tennis Team Championship in Cedar Falls, IA, with ISU winning, 4-0.
MALETIN KEEPS WINNING AT A HISTORIC RATE
- Sandra Maletin pulled out a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 win in Bradley's last match against Kansas City's Yana Grechkina and improved her career singles record to 63-24 (.724).
- Bumped up by her 8-1 (.889) start to the 2021 dual match season, Maletin's .724 career singles winning percentage has improved to the best of any student-athlete with at least 50 career singles matches played in Bradley history.
LOJPUR QUEITLY DOMINATES SINGLES
- Bozana Lojpur has been tearing apart the competition at No. 2 Singles, owning a 6-2 record.
- In her one unfinished match of the year against Kansas City, she held a 6-2, 5-4 lead at the conclusion.
- As a junior, Lojpur is already 15th in BU history with 44 singles wins.
MORE THAN DOUBLE TROUBLE
- Adaptability has been a strength of the Braves in doubles competition.
- As just a freshman, Maria Bezmenova already has wins with three different doubles partners across two positions.
- Nina Marjanovic made her doubles debut of the 2021 dual match season alongside Bezmenova against Kansas City. The duo pulled out a 6-3 win at No. 2 Doubles.
CONFERENCE PLAY
- The Braves are heading into the conference season with a winning record and are chasing their third consecutive winning season overall.
- A winning record this season would mark the third such year in a row and would be the first time the Braves have a winning record in three straight seasons since 1990-93.
- Bradley's 4-1 record in the last dual-match conference season – 2018-19 – was the program's best performance in conference play since 1992-93, when the Braves went 4-2. Of that 2018-19 group, six players are active this season.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Due to Restore Illinois Phase 4 COVID mitigation protocols and Bradley Athletics policy, fans will not be permitted to attend Bradley's indoor competitions at The Clubs at River City and will not be permitted inside the gate for outdoor competitions at the David Markin Courts at this time. Fans are permitted outside the fence at the David Markin Tennis Courts.
