WOMEN'S FIRST ROUND SCORES
#3 Eastern Kentucky 4, #6 Murray State 1
#4 Eastern Illinois 4, #5 Austin Peay 0
EASTERN KENTUCKY 4, MURRAY STATE 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Eastern Kentucky University women’s tennis team advanced to Saturday’s Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinal match with a 4-1 win over Murray State University in the opening round of play at the Centennial Sportsplex.
The Colonels locked up the doubles point in front of a large crowd with an exciting win at the No. 3 spot by freshman Corentine Bodin and junior Marina Marti.
After the teams split the No. 1 and No. 2 matches, Bodin and Marti’s poise helped the Colonels to the point and gave EKU momentum heading into singles play.
Junior Raquel Montalvo was sidelined in her first set of singles play, but that did not deter EKU.
Freshman Margaux Lacroix’s 6-2, 6-2 win put the Colonels in front 2-1, before sophomore Laura Argente drew EKU closer to advancing on to the next round.
With Viktorija Demcenkova, Bodin and Marti all leading with the deciding point remaining, it was Demcenkova’s 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 2 that clinched the match for the Colonels.
Murray State won the OVC Tournament title last season after handing the Colonels a 4-2 loss in the championship match.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 4, AUSTIN PEAY 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Eastern Illinois women's tennis team swept Austin Peay 4-0 in their opening match of the OVC Championship Tournament. With the win over the Governors the Panthers have secured a spot in the semi-finals against No. 1 seed UT Martin Saturday at 2 pm.
This marks the second straight year that EIU has made it into the semi-finals of the OVC tournament. The Panthers fell to No. 1 seed Murray State 4-0 during the 2015 season.
The Panthers won two of the three doubles matches to secure the all-important doubles point and put EIU in front 1-0 heading into singles play. Partners Srishti Slaria and Kamile Stadalninkaite were the first team to win their match downing APSU's Isabela Jovanovic and Hannah Tatlock 6-1. Hannah Kimbrough and Grace Summerssecured the doubles point winning from the No. 1 spot 7-5.
The same Panthers to secure the doubles point went on to secure the match victory for EIU as well. Slaria made quick work of Tatlock at the No. 4 spot 6-0, 6-1 to record her first postseason win as a Panther. Summers followed suit earning her 19th straight win from the third position this year defeating Helena Kuppig 6-3, 6-1.
The Nashville native and current senior Kimbrough secured the win for EIU at the No. 5 position by defeating Brittney Covington 6-0, 6-2 to keep the Panthers OVC Championship hopes alive.