Women's Tennis Closes Out Regular Season at Illinois State and Bradley

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Looking to lock up a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title, the Belmont University women's tennis team wraps up the regular season over the weekend at Illinois State and Bradley. At 5-1 in league play and 8-11 overall, the Bruins take on the conference-leading Redbirds (14-6, 7-0 MVC) Saturday afternoon in Normal, Illinois, before traveling to Peoria, Illinois, Sunday to face the Braves (7-12, 2-5 MVC).
 
Saturday's match versus Illinois State at the Gregory Street Tennis Courts is slated for a 2:30 p.m. first serve, while Sunday's outing with Bradley will get underway at 11 a.m. from the David Markin Tennis Courts.
 
Live scoring will be available for Saturday's matchup with the Redbirds at BelmontBruins.com.
 
Belmont is coming off a thrilling 4-3 road victory Wednesday afternoon at Murray State after having its four-match winning streak snapped by Drake last weekend. Graduate student Meredith Roberts clinched the match against the Racers at No. 4 singles by coming back from an opening set loss and taking the decisive third set, 7-5.
 
The top doubles duo of Ukrainians freshman Mariia Hlahola and sophomore Anastasiya Zholdakova remain nationally ranked in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) doubles rankings released earlier this week. The tandem is 7-4 at the No. 1 spot, while Hlahola is 11-6 at No. 1 singles.
 
Both of this weekend's matches will be the first-ever meeting between the programs.
 
Illinois State enters the weekend on a seven-match winning streak with its toughest test thus far in league play coming last Friday at the University of Illinois Chicago where the Redbirds narrowly escaped 4-3. Last Saturday, Illinois State defeated Valparaiso 5-2 on the road. The Redbirds are a perfect 7-0 at home this season.
 
The Braves' only wins in MVC action came in 4-3 fashion at Missouri State (March 18) and versus Northern Iowa (March 25). Bradley has lost five straight, including being swept at UIC last Saturday and versus Saint Louis in non-conference play Thursday. The Braves are 3-6 at home entering Sunday.
 
Up Next
The Bruins will learn of their seed and opening opponent for the 2023 MVC Women's Tennis Championship, which will be held next weekend, Friday-Sunday, April 21-23 at the Gregory Street Tennis Courts in Normal, Illinois, following Sunday's match at Bradley.
 
Follow Belmont women's tennis on social media – @BelmontWTennis on Twitter and @belmontwtennis on Instagram – for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.