Racers Finish Fall Season ITA Ohio Valley Regional

Thursday, October 20

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Murray State

Middle Tennessee

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

10/20/2016 5:52:00 PM | Women's Tennis

ITA Tournament Central

The Murray State women's tennis team began its run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Ohio Valley Regional in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Hosted by Middle Tennessee State, the event runs through the weekend at Adams Tennis Complex.

Check back here on GoRacers.com and see updates the event unfolds.

Thursday, Oct. 20
The Racers saw Alina Schibol and Amina Hadzic each win their opening matches in the qualifying singles bracket. The No. 7 seed, Schibol defeated Jaclyn Findlay (No. 8 seed) of Lipscomb 6-2, 6-1, while the No. 19 Hadzic defeated Cindy Oest of Western Kentucky 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Hadzic was able to push through the second round with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Ani Popiashvili of Tennessee State, while Schibol was defeated in the second round, 6-0, 6-3, by Anzhelika Shapovalova of Miami (OH).

Murray State's Sara Bjork is the No. 27 seed in the B singles bracket and defeated No. 28 Gaby Paul of Memphis 6-2, 6-1. Bjork lost her second round match to Helena Kuppig of Austin Peay 7-5, 6-4.

Racer sophomore Jeanne Masson was given a bye in the first round of the B flight bracket after her opponent couldn't play because of injury. She lost her second round match to Lauren von Eeckhoudt of Belmont 6-3, 6-2.

Friday, Oct. 21
MSU's Amina Hadzic knocked off Tennessee State's Ani Popiashvili 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Hadzic advances to the quarterfinals to face No. 3 seed, Mariana Humberg of Louisville.

In the main singles draw, MSU's Claire Chang, lost to Kentucky's Aidila Sutjiadi, No. 2 seed, 7-6, 6-3.

Chang then teamed with Schibol to win in a first round match in the main doubles draw over Tennessee State 8-1, but came back in the second round where they lost to Vanderbilt 8-3.

In consolation matches, the Racers saw both Masson and Bjork fall. Masson lost 6-2, 7-5 to TSU's Natraj Pragati and Bjork bowed out to Suzanna Stapler of Belmont 7-6(6), 6-4.

Schibol lost her consolation match with Cincinnati's Caroline Morton by a 6-3, 6-4 final.

In doubles consolation, Hadzic/Bjork lost to Middle Tennessee 8-0.

Quotes from Racer Head Coach Jorge Caetano

On MSU's good finish to the fall season
"It was a really good tournament overall where we got to compete against some of the best teams in the nation," Caetano said. "We were able to win a lot of matches and the ones we lost were against some really tough competition but we still put ourselves in the position to win those."

On what is in store for the Racers in the spring of 2017
"We're a young team with lots of potential, but the best thing about this group is their work ethic and how much they want to work to improve. I am really happy with our fall season overall. Nowow we go into our off-season workouts with lots of energy and positive throughts. We'll get stronger and faster in the weight room and be ready for the spring season. We want to do our best to give ourselves the a chance to win the OVC title."

On Amina Hadzic
"Amina had a great tournament beating two very good opponents in the qualifying round and both matches went to a third set. She had a hard time last year with third set matches, but this year, she has won almost all of them so it shows how much she has improved both physically and mentally."

On Claire Chang
"Claire had a very tough first round playing against a senior who is the No. 1 doubles player and number 23 singles player in the nation. She played a very good match where she controlled most of the points and put herself in position to win the first set. I give credit to her opponent who is a more experienced player and was able to play some really good tennis in the big moments. Claire is still really young, but she is showing a great level of maturity and I am very happy and excited to see her improvement in the future."

On Alina Schibol, Sara Bjork and Jeanne Masson
"Alina, Sara, and Jeanne faced some really tough competition this weekend, but they were able to play some of the best tennis I have seen them play as a Racer. It is great to see how much they have improved in such a short period of time in our program and I'm sure they will play a huge role for us in the spring."