EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Top-seeded Southeast Missouri women's tennis (15-5) fell to #2 Austin Peay (12-3) in a tough battle, 4-3, Sunday afternoon in the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Championship Final at the Wesselman Tennis Center.
 
The Governors won their second-straight OVC Tournament title after securing the crown in 2019 and earned the league's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
 
SEMO secured the doubles point to open the Championship Final.
 
The Redhawks won the doubles point in ever conference dual this season and finished 2021 with 15 doubles points in 20 matches.
 
Romana Tarajova, the 2021 OVC Player of the Year, teamed up with senior Kseniya Zonova for the duo's 11th win this season. Tarajova and Zonova (11-3) beat Fabienne Schmidt and Danielle Morris, 6-4, at the top slot.
 
Daniela Hlacikova, the 2021 OVC Co-Freshman of the Year, and Teona Velkoska then fought past Martina Paladini-Jennings and Honoka Nakanishi, 7-5, to claim the doubles point.
 
The victory was Hlacikova and Velkoska's ninth in 2021 (9-2) and second of the weekend in Evansville, Indiana.
 
When competition switched to singles, the Governors knotted the dual at 1-1 at the third slot.
 
Jana Leder, the 2021 OVC Co-Freshman of the Year, beat Zonova, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
 
SEMO responded with wins at the fifth and sixth lineup slots to take a 3-1 advantage in the match.
 
Vivian Lai downed Paladini-Jennings, 6-2, 6-3, for her 12th consecutive win. Lai finished 2021 with a 16-3 mark and was 9-0 against OVC foes this season.
 
Velkoska then overcame Nakanishi, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.
 
Both Lai and Velkoska finished the two-day Championship with perfect 2-0 marks in singles.
 
Austin Peay knotted the contest at 3-3 with decisions at the first and fourth spots.
 
Schmidt then edged Tarajova, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, before Aleks Topalovic outlasted Ksenia Shikanova, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
 
The dual came down to the decisive second singles match. Morris fought past Hlacikova, 6-7 (11-9), 6-1, 7-5, in a marathon match to provide the Governors the victory.
 
Hlacikova captured the opening set, 7-6, after an 11-9 tiebreaker.
 
The Redhawks 15 wins in 2021 is their highest win total in 28 years as the 1993 SEMO team finished the season with a mark of 17-6 (6-1 OVC).
 
SEMO captured the 2021 OVC Regular-Season title with a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play. The title was the first in Redhawks program history after the team completed their OVC slate without a blemish.