Racers Take Two of Three Weekend Matches

Thursday, February 13

Kenlake Tennis Center

12 P.M.

Murray State

Central Arkansas

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

2/17/2020 2:54:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score 3 Box Score Match 1 (PDF)Box Score Match 2 (PDF)Box Score Match 3 (PDF)

Murray State women's tennis returned home for three matches over the weekend, hosting Central Arkansas, Wright State, and Western Kentucky at the Kenlake Tennis Center in Hardin, Kentucky. The Racers earned victories in two of the three matches, opening with 5-2 wins over both Central Arkansas and Wright State, before falling to Western Kentucky 4-3 to close the weekend.

"I think it was a very good weekend overall, where we got to see great competition, and the girls responded well. We started the weekend very strong, and I just wish we had finished as strong," said MSU head coach Jorge Caetano.

Murray State 5, Central Arkansas 2
The teams of Sara Bjork/Marit Kreugel (6-2) and Anja Loncarevic/Sara Loncarevic (6-1) earned doubles victories at the #3 and #2 positions respectively as the Racers secured the doubles point for the seventh-straight match to open the 2020 season.

In singles, the Racers saw wins at each of the top four positions, with Sara Loncarevic (7-6, 4-6, 6-4), Stasya Sharapova (6-4, 6-3), Marit Kreugel (6-7, 6-3, 6-3), and Anja Loncarevic (6-3, 6-2) all finding success as Murray State cruised to a 5-2 triumph over Central Arkansas.

"UCA has a very strong team, and getting a win against them shows the potential of our team. We played great doubles and, in singles, we competed our hearts out and were able to win the top-4 positions - which is hard to do against a quality team such as them," added Caetano.

Murray State 5, Wright State 2
Stasya Sharapova/Samantha Muller (6-2) and Marit Kreugel/Sara Bjork (6-4) prevailed in doubles as the Racers kept their doubles winning streak alive through eight matches in 2020.

In singles, Sharapova, (4-6, 6-1, 7-6), Kreugel (6-0, 6-0), Muller (6-0, 6-2), and Bjork (6-0, 6-0) were all victorious at the #2, #4, #5, and #6 positions respectively to fuel the Racers in the 5-2 win over Wright State.

"We probably played our best doubles of the year against Wright State, and we were able to secure another important doubles point which gave us the momentum going into singles. We didn't play our best tennis in singles overall, but the girls found a way to compete for every ball and it was another important victory for us," explained Caetano.

Western Kentucky 4, Murray State 3
The Racers dropped the doubles point for the first time in 2020, with Kreugel/Bjork (6-1) being the lone doubles victory at the #3 position.

In singles, Stasya Sharapova (6-0, 6-4), Anja Loncarevic (7-5, 2-6, 6-2) and Marit Kreugel (6-3, 6-3) were responsible for the three points as Murray State fell to Western Kentucky 4-3.
"It was just a disappointing result because we know we missed so many opportunities, but we have to give credit to WKU for putting together a great match in both doubles and singles. They handed us our first loss in doubles, and I think this is going to be beneficial for us so that we can make some adjustments. In singles, we had a lot of opportunities to get the overall win but couldn't capitalize. We know some of our decision making in singles was poor against them, so we have to learn from these mistakes moving forward," said Caetano.

Caetano on Individual Performances:
"Marit Kreugel and Sara Bjork are doing an amazing job in doubles, and I couldn't be happier with the way they are playing right now."

"I think it was a very positive weekend in singles for us as well. Marit and Stasya did not lose a singles match, and both of them dominated their opponents in two of those matches before digging deep in the third one, so I am just very pleased with their level of play and consistency."

"Anja was also key for us this weekend, winning two third-setters that came down to a few balls in the end. It was great to see her focus on the goal and on the process, and she truly deserved those big wins."

Marit Kreugel remained unbeaten in 2020 after the three weekend matches, as the freshman from Vleuten, Netherlands improved to a combined 18-0 overall - posting a perfect 9-0 mark in both singles and doubles competitions on the season.

Stasya Sharapova also extends her winning streak to four matches in singles, as the junior from Astana, Kazakhstan improved to 6-2 on the year.

The Racers (7-2) return to action this weekend when they travel to Birmingham, Alabama for matches against UAB and Samford.