The monkey is off the back of SIU men’s tennis coach Dann Nelson.

The Salukis’ 4-1 victory against Illinois State in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament gave the team its first conference tournament victory since 2003. But the match did not start the way SIU envisioned it.

Despite being awarded the No. 3 doubles match, the Redbirds earned the doubles point behind their top-two doubles teams. Illinois State’s No. 1 team of Luka Marinkovic and Daniel Tobar defeated Lucas Waked and Anton Leonenko, 8-3, and in No. 2 doubles Nuno Jacinto and Filip Miljevic defeated Hugo Vidal and Sebastian Rubiano, 8-6.

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After losing the doubles match, it was the Salukis’ top three singles players who turned the momentum in their favor. Waked, Vidal and Mariano Restrepo picked up victories against the Redbirds’ top three seeds, and because Illinois State did not field a No. 6 singles player, Chase Miller was awarded the win, giving SIU a 4-1 victory.

Nelson said the team peaked at the right time and the win left him feeling good about the season.

“The last two years, we’ve bowed out in the first round, and one of our goals was to get past that first round and see what happens in the semifinals,” Nelson said.

In the semifinal match, SIU faced No. 1 seed Drake. Despite capturing the doubles point to open the match, the Bulldogs defeated the Salukis, 4-2.

Though the team lost, Nelson said the team played well against a team that had not lost the doubles point in conference play and showed signs of a bright future, especially Restrepo, who defeated Drake’s Mauricio Ballivan in straight sets.

Unfortunately for the Saluki women, they were unable to duplicate the success of the men’s team.

Northern Iowa fended off SIU’s upset-bid, defeating the Salukis, 4-1. Despite the loss, SIU was able to get off to an encouraging start, capturing the doubles point behind the efforts of the No. 1 doubles team of Sabine Tsala Mvilongo and Jessica Flannery and No. 3 team of Amanda – and Andrea Courtney.

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However, the Salukis were unable to carry that momentum into the singles matches. The Panthers’ No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 singles all picked up points. Coach Audra Nothwehr said she was happy about the effort put forth by the doubles teams despite ending the season with a loss.

“We were right there, but just couldn’t close those matches,” Nothwehr said.

Luis C. Medina can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 238 or [email protected].