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#5 Tennessee State 4, #4 Lindenwood 2
Box Score
#2 SIUE 4, #7 Western Illinois 0
Box Score
#3 Southern Indiana 4, #6 Eastern Illinois 2
Box Score
#5 TENNESSEE STATE 5, #4 LINDENWOOD 2
ST. LOUIS - The Tennessee State women's tennis team clinched a hard-fought victory in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, defeating the No. 4 seed Lindenwood 4-2. This marks TSU's second-ever OVC Tournament win, mirroring their win over Lindenwood last year's tournament.
The fifth-seeded TSU squad displayed resilience across both doubles and singles play, ultimately coming out with the win.
The Tigers gained an early advantage in doubles competition, with Warona Mdlulwa / Francisca Gomez-Weiss securing a 6-4 win in the No. 1 doubles spot. Meanwhile, Perri Howard and Aroa Arrieta Castillo claimed victory in the No. 3 doubles match with a score of 6-4.
Moving into singles play, TSU continued to demonstrate their dominance. Mdlulwa triumphed in the No. 1 singles spot, securing a decisive 7-5, 6-2 victory. Gomez-Weiss followed suit with an impressive performance in the No. 4 singles match, clinching a 6-0, 6-4 win.
Jovana Nikolic had a commanding victory in the No. 6 singles spot, where she won 6-4, 6-3.
#2 SIUE VS. #7 WESTERN ILLINOIS
ST. LOUIS - SIUE women's tennis blanked Western Illinois 4-0 Friday in its quarterfinal match at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships.
The second-seeded Cougars improved to 16-3 with their sixth straight dual match victory. On Saturday, SIUE will compete in the semifinals at 2 p.m. against the winner of the No. 3 Southern Indiana/No. 6 Eastern Illinois match at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center.
SIUE took the momentum early against Western Illinois, now, 2-6, with a the doubles point.
The Cougars picked up singles victories from Cydney Rogers at No. 5, Amelia Gorman at No. 3, and Fabiola Perez at No. 4. The match was stopped against Western Illinois after Perez clinched the match with the fourth team point.
#3 SOUTHERN INDIANA 4, #6 EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
ST. LOUIS - University of Southern Indiana roared back in comeback fashion showing incredible resilence to beat Eastern Illinois University on Friday afternoon at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinals in an incredible match, 4-2. The victory makes USI history as the Screaming Eagles earned their first OVC Tournament victory in program history.
The Eagles continue to defy odds after they were picked to finish dead last in seventh place in the preseason coaches poll. USI now owns an impressive 11-10 overall record along with a 5-2 record in the OVC. The record is a seven-game improvement from last season and gives the Eagles a winning record in only their second season of Division I competition.
USI also got revenge on a tough Eastern Illinois team after the Panthers eliminated the Eagles last season in the OVC tournament. This is the second time USI took down EIU this season.
The Eagles dug themselves a hole Friday afternoon losing two of the three doubles matches. The lone victory was freshman Anais Negrail (Caxias do Sul, Brazil) and senior Rachel McCorkle (Tulsa, Oklahoma) who won in dominate fashion firing on all cylinders, 6-0.
USI showed incredible character not letting their doubles results carry over to the singles matches. The Eagles clinched the match winning four of five competitions as freshman Antonia Ferrarini (Caxias do Sul, Brazil) beat her opponent 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to send USI to the semifinals. The OVC second-team member earned her eleventh singles victory of the season.
Freshman Sofia Davidoff (Lagny-sur-Marne, France) also brushed off her doubles defeat, taking down her opponent 6-2, 6-3. Junior Madison Windham (Clarksville, Tennessee) gutted out a win moving her OVC singles record to 4-3.
Newly awarded OVC Freshman of the Year Negrail, lived up to her honor on Friday winning her doubles and singles matches. She outslugged her singles number four opponent 6-3, 6-4.