Racers Hit the Road for Pair of Weekend OVC Matches

Friday, April 12

Edwardsville, Ill.

2 P.M.

Murray State

SIUE

Photo by: Dan Hasko

4/11/2019 9:03:00 AM | Women's Tennis

Dates: April 12-13
Site: Edwardsville, IL / Charleston, IL
Live Stats: For Match at SIUE: https://bit.ly/2v0GQzS
MSU Record (Streak): 10-7, 4-1 OVC (W2)
Racers All-Time vs. SIUE: 14-7
Racers All-Time vs. EIU: 26-4
SIUE Record: 6-10, 1-3 OVC (L1)
EIU Record (Streak): 11-7, 2-2 OVC (W2)
MSU Next Match: April 19 vs. Austin Peay
MSU Next Home: Same

Murray State women's tennis will hit the road for a pair of Ohio Valley Conference matches on the weekend, beginning with a Friday afternoon meeting with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. After their match with the Cougars, they will travel to Charleston, Illinois for a Saturday competition against the Panthers of Eastern Illinois University.

Last Time Out:
The Racers earned a pair of victories over the weekend at the Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts in Murray, Kentucky. The successful weekend began with 4-3 victory over UT Martin on Friday, followed by a 4-3 triumph over SEMO on Saturday. While the Racers were unable to secure the doubles on both occasions, outstanding singles play fueled Murray State to their ninth and tenth wins of the season while improving to 4-1 against conference competition in 2019.

Leading the way for the Racers was Amina Hadzic, who won both singles matches at the No. 3 spot for the Racers, while splitting her two doubles outings in Murray State's victories on the weekend.

Entering the Weekend:
The Racers enter this weekend's matches with a 10-7 overall record and a 4-1 mark against OVC competition thus far, leaving them in a tie with Belmont for second place in the conference standings with three matches left to play.

In doubles, the duo of Amina Hadzic and Sara Loncarevic have posted a 13-3 mark in dual matches at the No. 3 doubles position, which includes a 4-1 start against conference competition.

In singles, both Amina Hadzic (13-4) and Aarja Chakraborty (9-4) are off to a perfect 5-0 record in the Ohio Valley conference, competing at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions respectively for the Racers.

Scouting SIUE:
The Cougars enter Friday's match with a 6-10 record overall with a 1-3 start to their conference schedule. SIUE fell to Belmont 5-2 in their last time out - a road matchup in Nashville, Tennessee. In doubles, the duo of Callaghan Adams and Maria Thibault is 7-7 in dual matches on the year, with a 2-0 mark against OVC competition at the No. 2 doubles slot for the Cougars.

In singles, Alina Munteanu has turned in strong showings with a 9-5 record that includes a 9-4 mark while competing at the No.1 singles position for SIUE on the season.

Scouting Eastern Illinois:
The Panthers enter the weekend with an 11-7 record and will face the Governors of Austin Peay on Friday before their Saturday meeting with the Racers. Off to a 2-2 start against conference competition, the Panthers are coming off a 5-2 victory over Tennessee State in their most recent conference match.

In doubles play, EIU has been fueled by the team of Rachel Papavasilopoulos and Srishti Slaria who have posted an 11-2 record through 13 dual matches at the No. 1 doubles slot for the Panthers, with a 2-1 start in the OVC.

In singles, Rachel Papavasilopoulos carries an impressive 16-2 record with a perfect 4-0 start against conference competition while competing at the No. 1 singles position for Eastern Illinois.

All-Time Series:
The Racers will meet SIUE for the 22^nd time in program history, as the Racers own a 14-7 record in the all-time series. The most recent meeting saw the Racers prevail with a convincing 7-0 victory at home last season.

Against Eastern Illinois, Saturday will mark the 31^st meeting between the two sides, with Murray State holding a 26-4 advantage in the all-time series. The most recent match also took place last season as the Racers cruised to a 7-0 triumph at home in Murray, Kentucky.

Weather Forecast:
A cloudy 74 degrees is expected in Edwardsville on Friday, with winds in excess of 20 miles per hour blowing throughout the day. Chance of rain: 20%

For Saturday's match in Charleston, the forecast is calling for a partly cloudy 70 degrees with another batch of strong winds blowing around 20 miles per hour in the late morning/early afternoon hours. Chance of rain: 0%