Southeast Missouri (10-6, 5-0 OVC) at Eastern Illinois (1-19, 1-4 OVC)
Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Time: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Champaign, Ill.
Series: EIU leads, 20-7
Redhawks Hit the Road to Face Eastern Illinois
Southeast Missouri (10-6, 5-0) travels to Eastern Illinois (1-19, 1-4) for its final match of the regular season Wednesday. Start time is set for 6 p.m., CT.
Series History
Eastern Illinois holds a 20-7 lead in the all-time series between the teams. Southeast Missouri, however, has not lost to EIU since 2018. The Redhawks have held the Panthers to only one point in the last four matchups of the series. SEMO is 4-3 against EIU under Head Coach Mary Beth Gunn.
OVC Regular-Season Champions
With its win over Southern Indiana last weekend, Southeast Missouri earned at least a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title. SEMO is undefeated at 5-0 in league play with one match left at Eastern Illinois. As a team, the Redhawks are 18-1 in doubles play and 33-5 in singles action over the last seven weeks. A win over the Panthers will give SEMO the outright regular-season crown.
Back-to-Back OVC Titles
For the first time in program history the Redhawks are back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Regular-Season Champions. Overall, it is Southeast Missouri's third regular-season crown (2021, 2023, 2024).
About Eastern Illinois
The Panthers are currently on a three game losing skid with losses to Tennessee State (2-5), SIUE (1-6) and Lindenwood (2-5). Eastern Illinois' only win of the season came against Ohio Valley Conference opponent Western Illinois (6-1). The Panthers No. 2 player in Aleyla Wooten is undefeated in singles play against conference opponents this year (5-0). Sophomore Jemma Booth and senior Addison Brown have the most doubles wins for EIU this season with five apiece.
Undefeated at Home
Southeast Missouri went undefeated at home this year (5-0) with wins over Bradley, Arkansas State, Lindenwood, SIUE and Southern Indiana. SEMO only let their opponents score more than one point one time at the John C. Bierk Redhawks Tennis Complex this year. This is the second year in a row where the Redhawks have gone unbeaten at home.
By the Numbers
Southeast Missouri has three players with double-digit singles wins this season, including Daniela Hlacikova (11-5), Trinity Calinescu (11-4) and Lera Valeeva (10-6). Juliette Talieu (9-2) is one win away from reaching double-digit singles victories. In doubles action, SEMO's No. 1 pair of Hlacikova and Talieu (12-1) have just one loss. Calinescu and Lai are 10-4 at No. 2 and Maja Bajorek and Valeeva are 7-4 at No. 3.
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 crown two times and made the NCAA Tournament on two occasions since 2021. The Redhawks are 23-2 in regular season conference matches and 5-1 in OVC Tournament play since the 2021 campaign. SEMO has not lost to a current OVC member since 2018 (Eastern Illinois).
