CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's tennis (0-2) heads to in-state rival, Missouri State (0-3), Friday for a road dual at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Missouri. Doubles will open the match at 7 p.m., CT.
The Redhawks, the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Regular-Season Champions, were selected to finish the 2022 season first in the OVC, the league announced Tuesday. The Redhawks also had a program-best three student-athletes listed on the Preseason Top 10 List in senior
Romana Tarajova, sophomore
Daniela Hlacikova and freshman
Myroslava Zelenchuk.
Tarajova, the 2021 OVC Player of the Year, earned the top spot in the Top 10 Player Rankings while Hlacikova, the 2021 OVC Freshman of the Year, was picked third.
The finish is the highest projection for the Redhawks program in school history. SEMO received five of the eight first-place votes for 47 total points.
SEMO was slated to play last weekend (February 4-5) against Arkansas State and North Alabama, but the matches were postponed and cancelled, respectively, due to inclement weather. The Redhawks will now take on Arkansas State on Wednesday, March 9.
The Redhawks will take to the court Friday for the first time since playing Kentucky in a doubleheader to commence the 2022 campaign on January 23.
Daniela Hlacikova secured the lone victory for the Redhawks, with an impressive win over Fiona Arrese, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 3 singles.
The Wildcats took both doubles points beginning with the 59th-ranked doubles pair of Elizabeth Stevens and Carlota Molina, who defeated the Redhawk pairing of
Myroslava Zelenchuk and
Romana Tarajova, 6-2.
The Wildcats secured the first match with wins in the No. 5 and No. 6 positions as Lidia Gonzales defeated
Vivian Lai (6-2, 6-0) and Maialen Morante defeated
Lera Valeeva, 6-0, 6-3.
In the afternoon, the Wildcats built on their morning-session success as the SEC member took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
Carla Girbau and Ellie Eades beat Hlacikova and Lai, 6-2, before Arrese and Urrutia defeated Zelenchuk and Tarajova, 6-3.
Kentucky closed the match with singles wins at the No. 4, No. 2, and No. 3 slots in the match.
Arrese beat Shikanova, 6-1, 6-3, followed by Girbau defeating Hlacikova, 6-1, 6-2.
Urrutia then edged Zelenchuk, 6-1, 6-2, to conclude the doubleheader.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Bears are 0-3 in 2022 with losses to Kansas State, South Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha.
The Bears are currently 4-14 in their dual singles matches as a team, led by Alyson Piskulic who is 2-1 at the third and fourth slots.
Most recently, Missouri State lost a close match to Nebraska-Omaha, 4-3, in Springfield, Missouri, on February 6. Tiera Jarmond (6-4, 6-1), Piskulic (7-6 (4), 6-3) and Sandra Lukacova (6-3, 7-6 (3)) all secured victories for the Bears in singles.
Against South Dakota, Piskulic defeated South Dakota's Natika Kmoskova (6-1, 7-5) to win the lone match in the dual for the Bears.
Looking Ahead
Following their trip to Springfield, Missouri, the Redhawks will head to Columbia, Missouri, for a pair of matches. SEMO will take on Missouri Feb. 18 before facing Central Arkansas Feb. 19. The matches are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 9 a.m., CT, respectively.
