Redhawks Picked Second in the 2025 Tennis Preseason Poll
1/16/2025 10:11:00 AM | Women's Tennis
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Tennis team was picked to finish second in the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll on Thursday.
The Redhawks were picked second with 28 total points falling behind SIU Edwardsville who was picked to finish first with 6 of 7 first place votes and 36 total points.
Right behind SEMO was Western Illinois who received the other first place vote and 26 total points. Picked fourth through seventh was Southern Indiana (22), Lindenwood (15), Eastern Illinois (12), and Tennessee State with ten total points.
The University of Bryant will be joining the OVC tennis schools but will not play a regular season conference schedule. The Bulldogs will be competing at the OVC conference tournament as part of the eight team field.
Lera Valeeva, the graduate from Ekaterinburg, Russia, was the singles player to watch for SEMO. Valeeva joins grad transfer Kristina Kozakova, from Senica, Slovakia, as the doubles players to watch for SEMO. Valeeva is coming off of a season where she recorded a 10-6 singles record going 5-0 in OVC play and had a 7-5 doubles record going 5-1 in conference play.
SEMO is reigning back-to-back regular season OVC champs winning in 2023 and 2024, while also winning back in 2021 too. Last season SEMO had a 12-7 overall record and fell to #2 SIUE in the conference tournament finals.
Steve Brooks is at the helm of the Redhawk Tennis program now. Brooks, having several head coaching jobs at other universities, is in his first year at SEMO and looks to guide the Redhawks back to the NCAA tournament where they made an appearance after winning the OVC tournament title in 2022 and 2023.
2025 OVC Tennis Predicted Order of Finish
1. SIUE (6) - 36
2. Southeast Missouri - 28
3. Western Illinois (1) - 26
4. Southern Indiana - 22
5. Lindenwood - 13
6. Eastern Illinois - 12
7. Tennessee State – 10
*Bryant is a member of the OVC and will compete at the conference championships but will not play a conference schedule in 2025.
Southeast Missouri Players to Watch
Singles
Lera Valeera, Gr., Ekaterinburg, Russia
Doubles
Lera Valeera, Gr., Ekaterinburg, Russia
Kristina Kozakova, Gr., Senica, Slovakia
