Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Southeast Missouri
Racers Close out Regular Season with Title Hopes
4/11/2014 9:11:00 AM | Women's Tennis
With two more wins this weekend, the Murray State women's tennis team will do something it hasn't in over a decade – win the OVC regular season crown. It has been 11 years since the Racers last stood atop the OVC in 2003. MSU controls its own destiny and wins over Southeast Missouri (April 12) and UT Martin (13) will secure the Racers of at least a share of the conference title.
MSU finished in third place in 2013, head coach Olga Elkin's first year at the helm. Now in year two, she is poised to take her team to the top of the OVC. "I'm very pleased by how we've played this year. Everyone is so competitive and hungry for a win each time they step onto the court. We've gained confidence with each win so we know we can compete with any team."
Last week, the Racers defeated two-time defending champions and preseason No. 1 Eastern Kentucky 4-2. And although they suffered a setback against Morehead State, they are still in the driver's seat heading into the final weekend. A pair of wins will not only give them a conference title, but the No. 1 overall seed in next weekend's conference tournament.
"There is still a lot to play for this weekend, said Elkin. The conference is really strong so we're going to need to give it our best this weekend to come out with two road wins. This team knows what's in front of them though, and will be mentally prepared for two tough matches."
The first match for MSU will be in Cape Girardeau against SEMO. The Redhawks are mired in a five match losing streak. SEMO started the year 3-0 in the OVC, but have since gone winless to a 3-5 mark.
Good news for the Racers, they have defeated the Redhawks 42 times in 44 all-time matches and have won 18 in a row.
Valeriia Nagovitcina has played well for the Redhawks. She is 12-7 in dual matches from the No. 2 position and is 5-3 in the OVC. The only other Redhawk with a winning conference record is Melissa Martin. Playing from the No. 6 draw, Martin is 6-1 and is a riding a four match winning streak.
Fighting for their postseason lives is MSU's Sunday opponent, UT Martin. The Skyhawks are 3-4 heading into this weekend and in seventh place in the OVC. They can move as high as to the fifth spot or fall out of the tournament altogether.
Despite a 52-19 all-time advantage for the Racers, UTM has picked up wins in three of the last four matches. MSU was able to snap a three match losing streak to the Skyhawks last season, with a 7-0 win.
UTM has won two of their last three conference matches, with wins coming against Eastern Illinois and SEMO. The Skyhawks have done particularly well in doubles this season. They have earned the doubles point in five of seven conference matches.
The middle of the lineup has been the strength for UTM. They are a combined 23-7 from the third and fourth draws. Hitomi Naito is undefeated in the OVC at 7-0 playing at the second and third draws. Burcu Tari is an impressive 5-2 from the No. 4 position.
A few Racers are also chasing individual milestones. Eleonore Tchakarova (8-0), Verginie Tchakarova (7-0) and Megan Blue (7-0) are all undefeated in the OVC heading into the final weekend. The last time the Racers had a player finish undefeated with at least nine wins was newly inducted Hall-of-Famer, Anna Lask, in 2007.
Blue is trying to replicate her success from a season ago. She ended 2013 8-0 in the OVC, putting her currently at 15-0 to start her career.
Eleonore Tchakarova has already reached 20 wins this season. Verginie Tchakarova and Andrea Eskauriatza are a win away from the mark.
Also undefeated in the OVC is the doubles team of Eskauriatza and Erin Patton. The duo is 7-0 at mostly second doubles. With 18 wins, Patton also has a chance to be the first Racer to reach 20 doubles wins in a season since Anne Pennington and Angela McGahee in 2008.
