Southeast Missouri (5-6) at Western Illinois (2-9)
Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Time: 11 a.m., CT
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Series: SEMO leads, 5-2
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Live Stats: goleathernecks.com
Redhawks Open OVC Play at Western Illinois
Southeast Missouri (5-6) travels Western Illinois (2-9) for its Ohio Valley Conference opener Tuesday. Start time is set for 11 a.m., CT in Macomb.
Series History
The Redhawks own a 5-2 lead in their all-time series against Western Illinois. The last time Southeast Missouri and WIU met was in 2018. The Leathernecks edged the Redhawks, 4-3, that year. Mary Beth Gunn is 1-1 against WIU as SEMO's head coach.
OVC Weekly Awards
The Ohio Valley Conference weekly honors continue to pile up for Southeast Missouri this spring. Most recently, Lera Valeeva was named OVC Player of the Week for the first time in her career and Trinity Calinescu and Vivian Lai were tabbed OVC Doubles Team of the Week. In all, SEMO has won five OVC Player of the Week honors and collected three Doubles Team of the Week awards this season.
About Western Illinois
Western Illinois begins Ohio Valley Conference play as the newest member in the league. WIU enters the week coming off a pair of 7-0 losses against Saint Louis and Kansas City. The Leathernecks picked up their wins against IUPUI and Coe College. Junior Paige Grice has the most singles wins on the team with three and the No. 1 doubles pair of Grice and Lara Rossetto Diniz de Souza have a team-high four victories.
Ohio Valley Conference Dominance
The Redhawks have dominated the Ohio Valley Conference as of late. Southeast Missouri has won the regular season OVC title twice, the OVC Tournament title twice, and made an NCAA appearance twice since 2021. Since the 2021 campaign, the Redhawks are 17-2 in regular season conference matches and 5-1 in OVC Tournament play. SEMO has not lost to a current OVC Conference member since 2018 (Eastern Illinois).
Playing With Honors
This spring alone, Southeast Missouri has won eight of the possible 16 Ohio Valley Conference weekly awards, the most of any team in the league. Trinity Calinescu was named OVC Player of the Week twice, while Juliette Talieu, Daniela Hlaikova and Lera Valeeva won the honor once. Hlacikova and Talieu were named OVC Doubles Team of the Week on two occasions and Calinescu and Vivian Lai claimed the award one time.
Redhawks Picked to Win OVC in 2024
The Redhawks are the Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite entering the 2024 campaign. Southeast Missouri received 35 points and five first-place votes in the overall voting. SIU Edwardsville, Eastern Illinois, Tennessee State, first-year OVC member Western Illinois, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana completed the poll. Daniela Hlacikova (No. 1), Vivian Lai (No. 4), Trinity Calinescu (No. 7) and Juliette Talieu (No. 9) are ranked among the league's top 10 players ahead of the spring.
