CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The reigning regular season Ohio Valley Conference champions Southeast Missouri tennis team is scheduled to play in four tournaments during their 2024 fall season.
The Redhawks will open their fall campaign at the OVC Fall Tournament Sept. 21-22. The OVC Fall Tournament will be played in Evansville, Indiana at Wesselman Park.
SEMO will then head to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to compete at the Murfreesboro Tournament on Oct. 4-5 at the Adams Tennis center.
Next, the Redhawks will travel back to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to compete at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regionals on Oct. 10-13. Which will also be played at the Adams Tennis Center.
To end the fall season, Southeast Missouri will be on the campus of Stetson University in Deland, Fla. The Redhawks will compete in the Stetson Invitational on Nov. 1-2 at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center.
The Redhawks begin a new era this fall as head coach Steve Brooks takes over the Redhawk tennis program. Brooks comes to SEMO with more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 15 at the NCAA Division I level.
Prior to SEMO, Brooks worked as an assistant coach at fellow OVC member Tennessee State from 2022-24. There, he oversaw budgeting, facilities and travel. Brooks helped the Tigers earn a spot in the OVC Championship semifinals each of the last two years.
Lera Valeeva returns this semester as a graduate student. Valeeva is coming off an impressive 10-3 singles record at the number six slot during the spring. Valeeva ended last fall with a singles record of 8-3 and a doubles record of 6-2.
Maja Bajorek returns to the Redhawks this season and is entering her sophomore season after having a successful freshman campaign. Bajorek went 7-4 last fall season and spent most of time playing at the number five slot.
The only other Redhawk returning from last season is Juliette Demunck. Demunck, like Bajorek, is entering her sophomore season and hopes to build off of her 3-2 singles record from last spring.
Competing for the first time in a SEMO uniform this fall are newcomers Kristina Kozakova and Mia Mayerová.
Kozakova is a graduate transfer from Blue Mountain Christian where she earned First-Team All-Conference honors during her senior season.
Mayerová, the only freshman on this year's squad, is from Bratislava, Slovakia and she looks to contribute a lot to the Redhawks this fall.
