Butler nearly defeated Illinois State Friday afternoon at the Butler Bubble as the team match came down to the final court. The visiting Redbirds were able to come away with a tightly-contested 4-3 win.

After the Redbirds swept the doubles point, the Bulldogs made waves in singles. On the No. 1 court, Bailey Padgett disposed of Marcia Tere-Apisah in straight sets. Jocelyn Koester and Kailey Eaton both rebounded after dropping the opening set to win their respective matches at No. 3 and No. 4 singles.

After losing the first set in a tiebreaker, Butler's Lauryn Padgett was forced to retire down 5-6 in the second set. That proved to be the clinching point for Illinois State.

Butler returns to action Saturday with a pair of home matches. The Bulldogs host Dayton at 9 a.m., and then turn around for a 5 p.m. match with Indiana Wesleyan.

Singles

1. Bailey Padgett (Butler) def. Marcia Tere-Apisah, 7-5, 6-1
2. Jelena Karla Vujicic (ISU) def. Rachel Sutton, 7-5, 6-2
3. Jocelyn Koester (Butler) def. Jana Kustkova, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. Kailey Eaton (Butler) def. Gabriela Sprague, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Valerija Gercar (ISU) def. Lauryn Padgett, 7-6 (5), 6-5 (ret.)
6. Andrea Beneroso (ISU) def. Nina Bertino, 6-4, 7-6 (2)

Doubles

1. Tere-Apisah/Vujicic (ISU) def. B. Padgett/Sutton, 6-1
2. Kustkova/Sprague (ISU) def. Eaton/Koester, 6-2
3. Gercar/Beneroso (ISU) def. Minnick/McAuley, 6-3