Racers Struggle on the Road

Friday, February 14

Nashville, TN

11 a.m.

Murray State

Vanderbilt

2/18/2025 12:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Womens Tennis Fall on the Road in Tennessee

By: Kylie Givens

The Murray State women's tennis team fell short on the road against Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee.

The Racers went into the weekend without Senior, Paola Campigotto, resulting in the youngest lineup during Head Coach Jorge Caetano's 10-year tenure.

"Very tough weekend for us but the girls put on a great fight and things just did not go our way. We are very young and still learning how to play as a team but I know we are on the right track", said Head Coach Jorge Caetano

On Friday, The Racers traveled to play Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tn. Varya Alexeyeva and Barbora Hermanova missed their match point at 5-4 but were able to bounce back to secure the 7-5 victory. This match marks the first doubles win over Vanderbilt in program history. The Commodores were able to secure the win 4-0.

On Sunday, The Navy & Gold traveled back down south to play at Middle Tennessee in Mufreesboro, Tn. Yu Kikawa and Yuna Kadowaki fell short with a 6-2 loss. Bruna Melato and Valeria Chaikovskaia had a slow start but were able to bounce back from 4-1 and 5-3 deficits before tying the match at 5-5 when the match was stopped. The Racers held a 4-3 lead with the duo of Alexeyeva and Hermanova, but Middle Tennessee responded with three consecutive wins to clinch the doubles point.

In singles play, Melato (4-1), Widan (4-2), and Chaikovskaia (4-3) each held early leads in their first sets, but The Racers were unable to capitalize, ultimately dropping the opening set on all six courts. The Blue Raiders secured a 4-0 victory of The Racers.

Caetano added, "We have to do a better job in putting the opponents away when we have them on the ropes so we will learn from this weekend and hopefully make some better decisions and even different mistakes moving forward because that is the only way we will grow. The great thing about our program and this group is that we are not afraid of hard work so we'll take it on the chin but keep moving forward".

The Racers return to action when they face Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Ky (Feb. 20)

For more information on the Murray State women's tennis program, visit GoRacers.com or follow @RacersWTennis on X and Instagram.