BRACKET | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
The 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Women's Tennis Tournament continues today with a pair of semifinal matches. Top seeded Southeast Missouri will play No. 4 Tennessee State at 10 a.m. CT followed by No. 2 SIUE playing No. 3 Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m. The matches will be played at the Larry J. Helfin Tennis Center in Paducah, Kentucky.
#1 Southeast Missouri 4, #4 Tennessee State 0
Box Score
#2 SIUE 4, #3 Eastern Illinois 2
Box Score
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4, TENNESSEE STATE 0
PADUCAH, Ky. - #1 Southeast Missouri (16-2) did not lose a set and cruised to a 4-0 win over #4 Tennessee State (6-19) Saturday in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
SEMO advances to Sunday's championship match and will face the winner of #2 SIU Edwardsville and #3 Eastern Illinois in the final. The defending OVC Tournament Champion Redhawks are in the championship match for the third-straight year.
The Redhawks shutout TSU for the second time this season. SEMO eliminated the Tigers after they recorded their first postseason win in program history over #5 Lindenwood Friday.
SEMO took the doubles point first with wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Vivian Lai and Trinity Calinescu scored the first point of the day with a commanding 6-0 victory over Daniela Koleva and Aroa Castillo at No. 3. Daniela Hlacikova and Teona Velkoska took care of Franka Sindicic and Jovana Nikolic, 6-1, to claim the match's first point at No. 2.
First-Team All-OVC honoree Ksenia Shikanova beat Koleva in No. 3 singles, 6-4, 6-2, to secure SEMO's program record 15th consecutive victory. Shikanova's win also led the Redhawks to their 16th win of the season, second-most in a season in program history.
Lai upended Sindicic, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 4 and Calinescu beat Castillo, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 5 for SEMO's other singles wins. Lai and Calinescu each recorded their 26th singles wins this season. As a result, the two tied the school's single-season record of 26 singles wins held by Donna Fields (1992-93).
Once SEMO won the match with its fourth point, the singles matchups at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 went unfinished.
SIUE 4, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
PADUCAH, Ky. - Caitlyn Sporing's three-set thriller was the clinching point as SIUE advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship match with a 4-2 semifinals victory over Eastern Illinois at the Larry J. Heflin Tennis Center Saturday.
The Cougars will play defending champion Southeast Missouri in a noon match Sunday. Southeast Missouri topped Tennessee State 4-0 to gain its place in the finals. It will be SIUE's first appearance in the OVC Championships finals since the 2016-17 season when the Cougars won the title.
SIUE, which collected its 17th win of the season and now has increased its win total in each season under Albertsen, dropped the doubles point early against Eastern Illinois but regained its footing in the singles matches.
SIUE's Jordan Schifano collected a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Jemma Booth at No. 3 singles. Amelia Gorman bested Addison Brown 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4 singles. Fabiola Perez defeated Madeline Monroy 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5 singles.
Eastern Illinois, 13-11, mounted a comeback with a 6-3, 6-3 victory by Elizaveta Bukraba-Ulanova at No. 2 singles over Margaux Guibal Britt.
That left Sporing at No. 6 and Jill Lambrechts at No. 1. Both players split the first two sets. Down the stretch, Sporing would defeat Lauren Ellis 6-0, 1-6, 6-3.