CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's tennis (13-5, 5-1 OVC) fell to Austin Peay (9-5, 5-0 OVC), 5-2, Saturday afternoon at the John C. Bierk Redhawks Tennis Complex in a battle of the top two ranked teams in the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
Austin Peay, the 2021 OVC Tournament Champions and No. 2 ranked team in the league's 2022 preseason poll, edged the Redhawks, the 2021 OVC Regular-Season Champions and 2022 preseason favorite, with the doubles point and four singles matches Saturday.
 
The Governors opened the dual with doubles wins at the first and third slots to grab the point.
 
Daniela Hlacikova and Teona Velkoska commenced Saturday with a 6-2 victory over Jana Leder and Danielle Morris at No. 2 doubles. 
 
For Hlacikova and Velkoska, the win was the duo's eighth straight to improve their overall record to 12-2 (6-0 in OVC) in 2022.
 
Denise Torrealba and Honoka Nakanishi then beat Romana Tarajova and Ksenia Shikanova, 6-2, at the top slot. 
 
The loss for Tarajova and Shikanova wrapped their win streak at six matches.
 
Aleks Topalovic and Yu-Hua Cheng then defeated Myroslava Zelenchuk and Vivian Lai, 6-2, at the last doubles position. 
 
APSU then extended its advantage to 3-0 with singles wins at the fifth and six slots. 
 
Topalovic beat Lai, 6-1, 6-4, before Cheng overcame Velkoska, 6-2, 6-3. 
 
The loss was Lai's first in OVC play in 2022 and first in her career after going 7-0 in 2021.  
 
SEMO then cut the deficit to 3-2 with wins at the second and fourth spots.
 
Hlacikova bested Leder, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 2 in a matchup of the 2021 OVC Co-Freshmen of the Year.
 
The win was Hlacikova's fourth-straight as she moves to 11-6 this season (5-1 in OVC). 
 
Zelenchuk, a freshman from Lviv, Ukraine, then fought past Morris, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) in a tiebreaker at the fourth slot. 

The win as Zelenchuk's 10th of the campaign as SEMO now has five singles players with double-digit victories in 2022. 
 
Austin Peay then claimed the dual win with three-set decisions in the third and first positions.
 
Shikanova fell to Martina Paladini-Jennings, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, before Tarajova was overcome by Torrealba at No. 1.
 
After dropping the first set, 6-4, Tarajova forced the decisive third set with a second set tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5). Torrealba then outlasted Tarajova, 6-3, in the third set. 
 
SEMO recognized seniors Manuela Barriga, Grace Powderly, Romana Tarajova and Teona Velkoska at the conclusion of Saturday's dual. 
 
With the loss, SEMO's OVC win streak was halted at 14 matches dating back to the 2019 season (the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic). 
 
The Redhawks next wrap up their 2022 OVC regular season Tuesday, April 19 when SEMO hosts OVC rival, Murray State. The dual is slated to begin at 1 p.m., CT at the John C. Bierk Redhawks Tennis Complex. The match with the Racers was originally scheduled for Friday, April 15 but was rescheduled due to inclement weather. 
 
SEMO will then await its seeding for the 2022 OVC Championship Tournament April 29 through May 1 at the Wesselman Tennis Center in Evansville, Indiana. The Redhawks have a bye during the final week of league matches (April 22-23).