Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Southern Illinois
Racers Drop Heartbreaker at Southern Illinois
2/16/2014 11:23:00 PM | Women's Tennis
After an impressive 6-1 win the day before, Murray State women's tennis tried to end a four-match losing streak to Southern Illinois, and came up just shy. The Racers (3-3) fell 4-3 to the Salukis, their first match decided by a single decision this year.
Things got off to a rough start for the Racers, losing the doubles point. Andrea Eskauriatza and Erin Patton were the only winners, taking the second draw, 8-3. At No. 1 doubles, Eleonore and Verginie Tchakarova came up fell just short against Meagan Monaghan and Natasha Tomishima, falling 8-6.
Trailing 1-0 in the match, the Racers needed to win at least four of the six singles matches to come out on top. MSU nearly pulled it off, splitting the matches, 3-3.
Megan Blue needed extra points to win both of her sets. Blue was rewarded for her tough play, defeating Ariadna Cairo Baza 7-5, 7-5 at No. 4 singles.
Patton was the only Racer to pick up a pair of wins over SIU with an 8-1 pro-set win over Lauren Hoekstra at the sixth draw. With her two wins yesterday, Patton finished the weekend 4-0.
Verginie Tchakarova picked up the finals singles win for MSU. She defeated Polina Dozortseva 6-3, 6-2 and is 4-1 in completed singles matches this spring.
The Racers return to the court next Saturday, Feb. 22, at Evansville. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. Â
