CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's tennis (8-4) kicks off its 2022 Ohio Valley Conference season Friday and Sunday this weekend. SEMO, the 2021 OVC Regular-Season Champions, will travel to Danville, Illinois, to take on Eastern Illinois (2-12) Friday before returning home to face SIUE (12-1) Sunday at the Redhawks Tennis Complex. 
 
Friday's OVC opener at Eastern Illinois is set for 12 p.m., CT at the Danville Tennis Center while the Redhawks will host SIUE Sunday at 1 p.m., CT in Cape.

SEMO was originally scheduled to face EIU Friday at 2 p.m., CT at the Darling Courts but the dual was moved indoors due to inclement weather. 
  
SEMO fashioned an 8-4 non-conference record and is led in singles by Ksenia Shikanova and Vivian Lai. 
 
Shikanova enters league competition on an eight-match win streak with a 9-3 dual mark. She was named the OVC Women's Player of the Week on Tuesday for the first time in her career. 
 
Lai has won her last two matches and is second on SEMO with a 7-3 record. 
 
In doubles, Daniela Hlacikova and Teona Velkoska pace the team with a 6-2 record, playing primarily at No. 2. 
 
Shikanova and Tarajova have won their last four matches and are 5-1 in 2022 at the top doubles slot. The duo was selected as the OVC Women's Doubles Team of the Week on Tuesday. 
 
SEMO has picked up wins over Missouri State, Central Arkansas, Bradley, Arkansas State and Gardner Webb during the non-conference slate.
 
The Redhawks most recently returned from its spring break tour of North Carolina, going 2-1 over the three-match stretch with victories over Montreat College (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) on March 14 and Gardner-Webb on March 17. 
 
SEMO dropped its opener in North Carolina to Western Carolina, 5-2, on March 13 in Cullowhee, North Carolina. 
 
Shikanova, Hlacikova and Velkoska each registered singles and doubles wins at the dual with Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina. SEMO secured the doubles point before earning singles wins at every match except the first and sixth lineup spots.
 
The Redhawks then wrapped up their trip to the Tar Heel State, edging Gardner-Webb, 4-3, on St. Patrick's Day (March 17) in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. 
 
SEMO swept all three matches of the doubles portion to head into singles up 1-0. 
 
The Redhawks then increased their lead to 3-1 at the third and fourth slots. Shikanova won her eighth match in a row, beating Jardim, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. Myroslava Zelenchuk then bested Hellberg, 6-3, 6-0.
 
In the decisive fifth singles match, Lai fought past Roslund, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, to seal the dual victory for SEMO, 4-3. 
 
2022 OVC PRESEASON POLL
The Redhawks, the 2021 OVC Regular-Season Champions, were selected to finish the 2022 season first in the league. SEMO 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.
 
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.
 
2021 OVC RECAP
SEMO secured its first-ever OVC Championship with a program-best perfect 7-0 mark in league play in 2021. SEMO concluded the season with an overall record of 15-5. 
 
The Redhawks swept the 2021 end-of-the year awards with Mary Beth Gunn earning OVC Coach of the Year.
 
Tarajova and Hlacikova, the OVC Player and Freshman of the Year, respectively, both were tabbed to the 2021 All-OVC First Team while Shikanova was selected to the 2021 All-OVC Second Team. The three All-OVC selections were a program-best for SEMO.
 
As the top-seed at the 2021 OVC Championship Tournament, the Redhawks finished as the tournament runners-up, dropping a tight 4-3 match to #2 Austin Peay in the finals. SEMO advanced to the Championship Finals with a 4-1 win over #4 Jacksonville State in the semifinals.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Eastern Illinois
Eastern Illinois (2-12) comes into Friday's competition with SEMO having lost their last match at Western Kentucky, 7-0, on March 19. 
 
EIU has victories over IUPUI (6-1) on March 6 and Depauw University (7-0) on March 12 in 2022. 
 
Rachel Papavasilopoulos, the No. 2 player in the 2022 OVC Preseason List, leads the Panthers with six singles wins (6-7) at the top slot.
 
In doubles, Addison Brown and Christine Gouws pace EIU with a 5-3 mark playing primarily No. 2. 
 
EIU was pegged seventh in the 2022 OVC Preseason poll and will face UT Martin Saturday. 
 
SIUE Cougars
SIUE (12-1) will play UT Martin before squaring off with the Redhawks Sunday. The Cougars are currently 12-1 and are currently on a three-match win streak with victories over Radford, Sacred Heart and Milwaukee most recently. 
 
The record is the most non-conference victories in the program's Division I era. 
 
SIUE also has wins over Valparaiso, Chicago State, IUPUI, Western Illinois, Northern Iowa, Bradley and Radford. 
 
The lone loss on the Cougars record came at the hands of Western Kentucky, 4-1, on March 5 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. 
 
Most recently, SIUE defeated Milwaukee, 5-2, on March 20 in Edwardsville, Illinois. Dropping the double point to kick off the match, SIUE rattled off five singles victories to secure the victory over Milwaukee. 
 
Jill Lambrechts is currently on an 11-match win streak (11-1) in singles play at No. 2. She was previously named the OVC Player of the Week on March 15. Fabiola Perez is 10-2 in 2022. 
 
SIUE was picked fifth in the 2022 OVC Preseason Poll. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following their two-match weekend, SEMO will continue its OVC season Saturday, April 2, when they take on UT Martin. First serve is slated for 1 p.m., CT in Martin, Tennessee.