CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's tennis (11-4, 4-0 OVC) will host Jacksonville State (8-7, 3-1 OVC) Saturday at the Redhawks Tennis Complex in a battle of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. The dual with the Gamecocks is set for 1 p.m., CT.
SEMO will recognize senior
s Maja Lundell and
Kseniya Zonova for their careers as Redhawks prior to the contest.
SEMO most recently overcame Murray State (7-7, 3-1 OVC), 4-3, to improve to 4-0 in OVC play Wednesday at the Redhawks Tennis Complex.
With the victory, SEMO extended its win streak to seven matches.
Ksenia Shikanova posted doubles and singles wins Wednesday while
Romana Tarajova,
Kseniya Zonova,
Lera Valeeva,
Daniela Hlacikova and
Vivian Lai each compiled wins.
The Redhawks secured the doubles point for the seventh straight match to open their dual with OVC rival, Murray State.
SEMO earned wins at the top two slots for the point. Tarajova and Zonova defeated Sarah Bureau and Sara Loncarevic, 6-1. Shikanova and Valeeva then overcame Stasya Sharapova and Marit Kreugel, 6-4.
For both SEMO's first and second doubles teams, that was their fifth straight victories in 2021.
Lai then cruised past Anja Loncarevic, 6-4, 6-2, at no. 5 singles to pull the lead back in favor of SEMO. With the win, Lai improved to 11-3 in 2021 with her seventh straight victory.
SEMO secured the dual victory with consecutive decisions at the second and fourth singles slots.
Shikanova outlasted Kreugel, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, before Hlacikova won her no. 2 singles match in a second set tiebreaker.
Hlacikova, a freshman from Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, improved to 12-1 this campaign with her sixth straight win. She fought past Sharapova, 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) to seal the Redhawks victory.
Jacksonville State dropped its first conference dual in 2021, 5-2, at Murray State on March 27. Prior to that match, JSU had earned wins over Eastern Illinois, SIUE and Austin Peay.
The Gamecocks will face UT Martin Friday before heading to Cape Girardeau to take on SEMO Saturday.
JSU was pegged to finish 2021 fourth in the league.
The Redhawks will next travel to Edwardsville, Illinois to face SIUE Friday, April 16. The match will be SEMO's sixth OVC dual of the spring 2021 season.
