Racers Fall To Eastern Kentucky In Season Finale - Tournament Bracket Revealed

Saturday, April 14

Richmond, Ky.

10 a.m.

Murray State

Eastern Kentucky

Photo by: Hunter Julius -Murray State Athletics

Racers Fall To Eastern Kentucky In Season Finale - Tournament Bracket Revealed

4/14/2018 6:17:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score PDF RESULTS 2018 OVC TENNIS BRACKET

Murray State women's tennis team fell 4-3 to Eastern Kentucky in the regular season finale in Richmond, Ky.

"First I have to congratulate EKU for an incredible regular season. Both teams played a great match today and EKU took advantage of the home court and of the crowd of over 100 people cheering them on. It was a great atmosphere to play a college match and I am very happy with the way out girls were able to compete in those circumstances," said head coach Jorge Caetano after the match.

Murray State moves to 14-7 overall and 8-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference while EKU is now 14-8 overall and 9-0 in the OVC. This was the first loss for the Racers since March 10 when they fell 6-1 to Samford in Birmingham, Ala. Eastern Kentucky and Murray State will represent the first and second seeds of the OVC tournament, which in turn grants them a first-round bye.

"Our team showed a lot of heart today and I am very proud of every single one of them. We were only a few points away from winning some key games, both in doubles and singles that would definitely have shifted the match in our favor. They had a quick 3-1 lead and it was amazing the resilience and toughness Aarja and Anja showed to come back from one set down and tie the match at 3-3. Unfortunately, we weren't able to secure the last point and props to EKU for playing a little better in the end."

Although starting off down 2-0, Murray State didn't give EKU a moment to rest, With Claire Chang getting Murray State back into the contest with a two-set victory of 6-0 and 6-1. Chang picked up her 20^th win of the year and ends the regular season 6-2 in conference play.

Down 3-1, Aarja Chakraborty dug in and held on to secure a crucial three-set win in the third singles spot, as she won 3-6, 6-1 and 6-4. Chakraborty picked up her 10^th win of the year and ends conference play 7-2.

Murray State would force a final set with Anja Loncarevic winning in three sets, 3-6, 7-5 and 6-1 to tie the match 3-3 before EKU would clinch the victory a match later. Loncarevic picked up her eighth win and sixth in conference play.

"This season has been of a lot of firsts for this team and we want more. It's great to have a bye in the first round of the OVC tournament, and now we are going to work very hard this week and make some adjustments so we can accomplish our final goal of winning the tournament. This group is very special and I am very confident we are going to bounce back and be ready for whoever we face in the tournament. Nothing will stop us and this is just the beginning."

The bracket for the upcoming OVC tournament has also been released, with the winner of Austin Peay and UT Martin set to play Murray State on April 21 around 2 pm. The winner of Jacksonville State and Eastern Illinois will play Eastern Kentucky at 5 pm on April 21.

The 2018 OVC Men's and Women's Tennis Championships will be held April 20-22 at the Centennial Sportsplex Tennis Center in Nashville, Tenn. It marks the fourth-straight year the event has been held at the venue.