CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's tennis (7-4) will travel to Martin, Tennessee, to face UT Martin (0-8) in its Ohio Valley Conference opener Sunday at the Skyhawk Tennis Complex. Doubles will open the OVC dual at 1 p.m., CT.
The match was originally scheduled for Friday but was pushed back as a result of inclement weather conditions in Martin, Tennessee.
The Redhawks were selected to finish the 2021 season third in the OVC while UTM was pegged tied for seventh. Head coach
Mary Beth Gunn, an All-OVC tennis player at UT Martin, is in her sixth season at the helm of SEMO.
In their nonconference slate, SEMO went on a four-match win streak after dropping their first three contests of the season. The Redhawks have competed against the Southeastern Conference's Missouri and the Big 12's Kansas.
The Redhawks are currently riding a three-match win streak entering league play.
SEMO wrapped up its non-conference schedule last weekend with a 4-2 win over Illinois State (10-7) of the Missouri Valley Conference March 13 at the McCracken County High School Tennis Indoor Facility.
Romana Tarajova captured a pair of wins in both the singles and doubles competitions and was named the OVC Women's Tennis Player of the Week Wednesday. Tarajova, the 2019 OVC Freshman of the Year and First Team honoree, was also selected to her second consecutive preseason team prior to the start of the 2021 season.
Daniela Hlacikova,
Vivian Lai,
Kseniya Zonova,
Ksenia Shikanova and
Lera Valeeva each had a victory in the dual with ISU.
Hlacikova has recorded a team-best eight singles victories this spring in her inaugural collegiate season.
SEMO won the doubles point in their third straight match to open the contest.
The Redhawks also secured a doubleheader sweep of William Woods in their home opener at the Redhawks Tennis Complex on March 8. SEMO handed the Owls of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics its first two losses of the 2021 season with a 6-1 opener followed by a 7-0 second match.
Manuela Barriga,
Vivian Lai and
Maja Lundell each registered a pair of singles victories in the doubleheader sweep. For Barriga, it was her first time competing since the season opener at Missouri on Jan. 24. The junior who hails from Bogotá, Colombia, posted her first three (two singles and one doubles) wins of the 2021 campaign.
Lundell also made her 2021 debut March 8 against the Owls. Hlacikova, Shikanova, Tarajova, Valeeva and
Teona Velkoska each secured singles wins.
Most recently, UT Martin fell to Middle Tennessee State, 6-1, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on March 12. UT Martin is winless in 2021.
Competing exclusively at No. 3, the tandem of Mizuki Sakurai and Sina Albersmeier boast a team-best 4-2 record in doubles. The duo of Amelia Campbell and Jule Streif has also won two victories at the No. 1 slot in 2021.
In singles, Albersmeier has a pair of wins (one at No. 4, one at No. 5) while Sakurai has additionally contributed two victories (one at No. 5, one at No. 6). Last week, Campbell (No. 1) and Streif (No. 2) also claimed their first singles wins of the 2020-21 campaign.
SEMO will next travel to Nashville Tennessee, to compete against Belmont on March 27. Belmont was selected to finish fifth in the OVC.
