Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
SIU Edwardsville
Tennis Welcomes a Pair from the Prairie State
3/28/2014 9:35:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
Women's Match Notes vs. SIUE
Women's Match Notes vs. Eastern Illinois
Men's Match Notes vs. SIUE
Men's Match Notes vs. Eastern Illinois
Saturday and Sunday, March 29 and 30, Murray State's men's and women's tennis teams will play host to SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois for a pair of conference battles. The Racer women put their perfect 4-0 conference record on the line, while the men will look to get back on track after dropping their last match against Belmont.
If the women's team can defeat SIUE on Saturday, it will mark the first time the team has started conference play 5-0 since 2005. The Racers are 11-5 all-time against the Cougars and have won six in a row.
MSU is coming off a stretch that saw six matches in nine days. Despite the heavy workload, the Racers were up to the challenge, winning five of the matches with the only loss coming against then-ranked #47 Tennessee.
Both Eleonore and Verginie Tchakarova went 5-1 during the stretch and are tied, along with Andrea Eskauriatza, for the team lead with 16 overall wins. Verginie is in sole-possession of the team lead when it comes to dual-match wins, having already reached 10 in 12 matches.
Along with being 4-0 in the OVC, the Racers are also a combined 22-1 in individual conference matches. They are also yet to lose a doubles match in OVC play.
The Cougars are 1-2 in the OVC heading into the weekend. They stumbled out of the gates with losses to Morehead St. and Eastern Kentucky, but picked up their first win against Jacksonville State, 4-3.
Despite their losing record, SIUE has some impressive individual overall records. In singles play, Mia Froger stands out at 18-3. She has played at mostly third singles and is 10-2 in dual matches. Lexi Aranda and Haley Ilcewicz have teamed up to go 2-0 in conference doubles matches, and are 7-2 in dual matches.
Eastern Illinois is mired in their first slump of the season. After starting out 6-0, and even being ranked in the ITA top-75, the Panthers have lost two of their last three matches and are just 1-2 in the OVC.
Like the Racers, EIU has also found success in doubles matches. The team is a combined 19-6 in doubles matches, led by the duo of Janelle Prisner and Sephora Boulbahaiem at 7-1.
On the singles side, Ali Foster has been locked in from the No. 4 position. She boasts an 8-1 record in dual matches and is 2-1 in conference play.
After picking up their first conference win of the season against Tennessee State, the Murray State men couldn't double up a day later, losing to Belmont, 5-2. The Racers are 2-8 this season in dual matches and 1-2 in the OVC.
Playing at fifth singles, freshman David Hess is the only Racer with a winning record in conference. Hess earned wins over TSU and Belmont and stands at 2-1 this season.
The match against TSU gave brothers Aleks and Nicholas Mitric their first win this season on the doubles court while Adam Taylor and Max McLean also picked up a doubles win against the Tigers.
SIUE has had an up-and-down start to their conference schedule, trading wins and losses to their 2-2 record.
The Cougars have been strong at second and third doubles this season. As a team, they've won on court three in eight of 13 matches while Patrick Gaffigan and Matthew Hutchinson are 4-0 in the OVC on court two.
The Cougars also have a trio with winning records in conference singles play. Jacob Tanulanond is one of those three, sitting at 2-1 in the OVC and 14-7 overall. Gaffigan and Nicolas Vincent are also 2-1 in the OVC.
After a season-long three match losing streak, EIU has since gone 2-1 with OVC wins over Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech. The Panthers are also 2-0 in conference and are 5-6 overall.
Despite just five match wins, the Panthers have taken the doubles point in seven of their 11 contests this season. Part of the reason is the team of Ryan Henderson and Rui Silva. The duo is 8-2 on the season as a team and 3-0 in the OVC at the second draw.
EIU has been able to collect points from the lower seeded matches. Robert Skolik and Kevin Bauman both have seven wins and are 3-1 in the OVC playing from the fourth and sixth draws, respectively.
