Racers Split Final Home Weekend of 2021

Friday, April 9

Murray, Ky.

11 A.M.

Murray State

SIUE

Photo by: Dan Hasko - Murray State Athletics

4/10/2021 9:38:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score PDF (Match 1)Box Score PDF (Match 2)Photo Gallery

Racers defeat SIUE 4-3, Fall to Eastern Illinois 3-4 in a pair of hard-fought battles

Murray State women's tennis played their final two home matches of the 2021 season, hosting SIUE and Eastern Illinois on Friday and Saturday respectively. Playing their second and third matches in just four days, the Racers split the weekend - earning a 4-3 victory over SIUE before coming up short in a 4-3 contest against the Panthers.

"It was not the weekend we were hoping for, and that's on us. I can't remember the last time we performed at such a low level on back-to-back days, and we will need to address it this week in practice. We got lucky to get away with one win this weekend, so we will put in some extra work this week so we can bounce back on Friday against Austin Peay.," said MSU head coach Jorge Caetano.

Match 1 – Murray State 4, SIUE 3

The Racers opened the match on a positive note when they secured the doubles point with wins from Stasya Sharapova / Marit Kreugel (7-5) and Anja Loncarevic / Gabrielle Geolier (6-4) at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.

Murray State then sealed the overall victory over the Cougars in singles competition after Stasya Sharapova (6-1, 6-3), Sarah Bureau (0-6, 6-1, 6-2), and Gabrielle Geolier (6-0, 6-0) all won their matches at No. 2, 3, and 6 singles respectively.

Match 2 – Eastern Illinois 4, Murray State 3

Despite Stasya Sharapova and Marit Kreugel teaming up for a 6-4 victory at No. 2 doubles, the Racers conceded the doubles point to the Panthers in the second match of the weekend.

In singles, Sarah Bureau (6-4, 6-1), Marit Kreugel (6-2, 6-2), and Gabrielle Geolier (6-2, 6-2) all won their matches in straight sets as the Racers took a 3-1 lead on the day, but the Panthers answered back with a pair of wins at No. 1 and No. 2 to level the match at 3-3.

The fate of the match would rest on the result at No. 5 singles, and while Anja Loncarevic earned a 6-4 win in the first set, EIU's Addison Brown escaped with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 triumph to win the match for Eastern Illinois.

Geolier remained undefeated in OVC singles as her win on Saturday made her 6-0 in the conference in 2021 while it also marked her eighth-straight overall victory in singles play. Sarah Bureau also earned her team-leading 12^th singles win of the season as she improved to 12-4 on the year.

The Racers (8-8, 4-2 OVC) will play their final match of the regular season on Friday they travel to Clarksville, Tennessee for a Battle of the Border rivalry clash with Austin Peay.