ILLINOIS STATE ATHLETICS

For Immediate Release

By: Matt Henton
 
February 29, 2020.

Women’s Tennis Advance to Championship at Redbird

Invitational
 
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women’s tennis team will play for the championship of the Redbird
Invitational after defeating Dayton 4-1. The Redbirds will play against the winner of the UW-Milwaukee and
Bowling Green State match that is scheduled for later today. The Championship is scheduled for tomorrow,
March 1 at 12:30 p.m.

The ‘Birds came back in the doubles match down 1-0. Sophomore Tara Damnjanovic and junior Laura
Fitzgerald took down Paige Kompa and Kelly Pleiman at the No. 1 spot. Senior Laura Arciniegas and
freshman Elena Jankulovska clinched the point for the team, defeating Elizabeth Hamilton and Emily
Zargham 6-4 at the No. 2 spot.

Moving on to the singles round, Arciniegas extended her win streak to 7 with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Erica
Wojcikiewicz. The Columbia native is still undefeated this season and is looking to push that streak to 8
tomorrow in the championship. Freshman Elena Jankulovska and junior Ivon Mihaleva also won in the No.4
and No. 5 spots to get the Redbirds the win.

“I am very happy we got the win today,” said Laura Arciniegas when asked about the win. “I will keep
working hard to help the team get better results. Today we did a great job and had the focus we needed.
We will keep it up to win the championship tomorrow.”

Redbirds Scoring Breakdown:

 
Singles competition
1. Tara Damnjanovic (ILST) vs. Paige Kompa (DAY) 3-6, 4-5 DNF
2. Laura Fitzgerald (ILST) vs. Kelly Pleiman (DAY) 4-6, 6-1, 3-0 DNF
3. Laura Arciniegas (ILST) def. Erica Wojcikiewicz (DAY) 7-5, 6-1
4. Elena Jankulovska (ILST) def. Emily Zargham (DAY) 6-3, 6-4
5. Ivon Mihaleva (ILST) def.  Natalie Allen (DAY) 7-5, 6-3
6. Claire Ghidotti (DAY) def. No Player (ILST) Win by Default
 
Doubles competition
1. Tara Damnjanovic/Laura Fitzgerald (ILST) def. Paige Kompa/Kelly Pleiman (DAY) 6-3
2. Elena Jankulovska/Laura Arciniegas (ILST) def. Elizabeth Hamilton/Emily Zargham (DAY) 6-4
3. Natalie Allen/Erica Wojcikiewicz (DAY) def. No Player (ILST) Win by Default
 
Thoughts from Coach Maja Kovacek:
“I’m really proud of the way we handled ourselves today. It’s always hard to play shorthanded and our
players handled that added pressure well and showed a lot of improvement since last week.”
 
Up Next: 

The Redbirds will play against the winner of the UW-Milwaukee and Bowling Green State match. The
championship will be played tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. Admission to the match is free.
 
GoRedbirds.com:  Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts,
multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
 
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