Issue date: 4/21/09 Section: Sports

Freshman Matyas Hilgert vollies during the match against Murray State on April 11 at the Darling Courts. (Karolina Strack/The Daily Eastern News)

Despite losing in the first rounds of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, the Eastern men's and women's tennis teams have received positive contributions from both the younger and more veteran players.

The Eastern men were led by the duo of seniors: Jordan Nestrud and Vuk Milicevic.

Nestrud went 10-10 in singles competitions, while Milicevic finished the season with an overall record of 14-8 in singles matches.

However, the two made their names this season in doubles matches.

The two finished the season with an overall record of 14-2, including going 5-2 in OVC matches.

Their only losses in doubles competitions this season came against Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech.

Quite possibly the biggest success of the season for Nestrud and Milicevic was the upset of the 74th ranked Jacksonville State Gamecocks' doubles team, consisting of senior Scott Robertson and junior Eduardo Saratt.

The Eastern seniors defeated the nationally ranked duo on March 25 in Birmingham, Ala., 9-7.

Eastern head coach John Blackburn said he was more than impressed with the way the two seniors performed this season.

"Playing in doubles matches with Jordan was probably the biggest highlights of my season," Milicevic said.

Milicevic said this season was probably his most successful season, and it was filled with many successful moments for him and the team.

"It was a big goal of mine to play in the regional championship, as well as being named OVC Player of the Week," Milicevic said. "I've never been named OVC Player of the Week before so it was a pretty big accomplishment for myself."

Along with the duo, Blackburn said he was pleased with the development of some of the younger players on both sides.

"We saw some improvement from (freshmen) Jamie (Firth) and Drew (Grimaldi), as well as some strong wins from (junior) Jeff (Rutherford)," Blackburn said.

Rutherford earned Second Team All-OVC honors.

Firth and Rutherford combined to finish 4-1 in doubles competitions, while Grimaldi finished the season with a record of 12-10 in singles competitions.

The Eastern men's tennis team finished the season 10-13, while the Eastern women ended the season 8-13.

"For the women, we were a very young team this year, probably the youngest group I've had since coming to EIU," Blackburn said. "We've made improvements as the season has gone on, and I'm excited to see how that translates into next season."

Freshman Shannon Brooks finished the season with a record of 9-6 in singles competitions, while the combination of sophomore Cara Huck and freshman Juliana Frey finished the season with a record of 7-4 in doubles competitions.

The men's team will only lose seniors Milicevic and Nestrud, while all seven players will return next season on the women's side, giving Blackburn optimism for next year's team.

Among the players returning for the women's team is 2007 OVC Freshman of the Year Hayley Homburg, who is a junior this season.


Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or at jnschneider@eiu.edu.

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