CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's tennis (10-4, 2-0 OVC) overcame SIUE (13-2, 1-1 OVC), 4-3, Tuesday afternoon at the Redhawks Tennis Complex to improve to 2-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play in 2022.
SEMO handed SIUE just its second loss of the season with wins at the first, fifth and sixth singles positions after securing the doubles point.
The Redhawks have now registered 10 wins for the second-straight season and third-straight excluding the 2020 campaign that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Redhawks opened the dual match Tuesday with doubles victories at the third and second slots.
Myroslava Zelenchuk and
Vivian Lai downed Melissa Vizcardo and Caitlyn Sporing, 6-1, before
Daniela Hlacikova and
Teona Velkoska beat Jordan Schifano and Vanessa Reinicke, 6-2.
Both of SEMO's doubles team extended their respective win streaks to four matches. Hlacikova and Velkoska improved to 8-2 in 2022 while Lai and Zelenchuk are now 5-1 as a duo.
When the competition switched to singles, the Redhawks increased their advantage to 2-0 with a win at No. 1.
Romana Tarajova, the 2022 OVC Preseason Top Player, defeated Schifano, 6-2, 6-1, for her second-straight win.
The Cougars then evened the dual at 2-2 with wins at the second and fourth slots. Jill Lambrechts beat
Ksenia Shikanova, 6-3, 6-2, before Fabiola Perez overcame Zelenchuk, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1.
SEMO then responded with victories at the final two singles positions to seal the win in league competition.
Velkoska bounced back after dropping the opening set to defeat Nicole Gomez, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, at the sixth lineup spot.
Lai then fought past Amber Hochstatter, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, at No. 5 singles to secure the win for the Redhawks.
Lai improved to 9-3 in singles in 2022 with her fourth-straight win.
Reinicke then overcame Hlacikova, 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 6-4, at the third flight.
SEMO's dual with SIUE was originally scheduled for Sunday, March 27, but was rescheduled due to cold weather in the forecast. Because temperatures were below the 50 degrees Fahrenheit threshold on Sunday, the OVC match was rescheduled.
SEMO will next continue its OVC season Saturday, when the Redhawks take on UT Martin. First serve is slated for 1 p.m., CT in Martin, Tennessee.
