Racers Break Even in Final Matches Before Beginning OVC Play

Friday, February 28

Evansville, Ind.

3:45 P.M.

Murray State

Southern Indiana

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Racers Break Even in Final Matches Before Beginning OVC Play

3/1/2020 8:38:00 AM | Women's Tennis

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

Murray State women's tennis traveled to the state of Indiana for two matches on the weekend. The Racers would break even over the two days, earning a dominant 7-0 victory over Southern Indiana on Friday, before falling to Ball State 4-3 on Saturday in their final action before beginning OVC competition on March 13^th.

"It was a positive weekend overall, and exactly what we needed before OVC play. We found our groove in doubles again, and I'm very happy with that," said MSU head coach Jorge Caetano.

Murray State 7, Southern Indiana 0
The Racers started off the day by securing the doubles point after Stasya Sharapova / Samantha Muller (7-5), Anja Loncarevic / Sara Loncarevic (6-4), and Marit Kreugel / Sara Bjork (6-1) earned convincing wins to go perfect in doubles.

Sharapova (6-2, 6-0), S. Loncarevic (6-0, 6-0), A. Loncarevic (6-0, 6-0), Kreugel (6-2, 6-1), Muller (8-3), and Bjork (8-1) also earned victories in singles as the Racers completed the sweep without dropping a single set in their 7-0 victory over the Screaming Eagles.

"The girls did a great job taking care of business on all the courts. They didn't give the opponents a chance, and controlled the action from the very first point," explained Caetano.

Ball State 4, Murray State 3
Murray State kept the momentum going in doubles against the Cardinals, earning the doubles point after Sharapova / Muller (6-3), and Kreugel / Bjork (6-1) saw victories at the #2 and #3 positions, with the #1 match going unfinished.

In singles, the Racers won the top two spots with Sharapova (6-2, 6-4) and S. Loncarevic (3-6, 6-0, 6-4) prevailing at the #1 and #2 positions respectively, but the Racers would come up short overall – falling to Ball State 4-3.

"We finally played a great doubles match again against Ball State. We controlled the points on all the courts, and that is what we will need to do in OVC play. In singles, we just weren't consistent enough with our play. We played very good for a good stretch, but we also struggled for two or three games in a row, and we know we have to fix that for OVC. I'm happy with the fight, giving ourselves the chance to win, but just couldn't finish it," added Caetano.

On Individual Performances
"Stasya and Sara Loncarevic have stepped up and are doing an amazing job for us at #1 and #2 singles. I have the confidence they can compete and win against anyone they play, and that's really important for us moving to OVC play," concluded Caetano.

After earning two victories at the #1 singles position on the weekend, Sharapova improves to 8-3 in singles competition in 2020. The junior from Astana, Kazakhstan, also went perfect in doubles with teammate Samantha Muller, bringing her individual doubles record to 6-6 on the year.

Marit Kreugel and Sara Bjork also turned in two doubles wins over the weekend, as the duo remains undefeated with an 11-0 mark in 2020.

After a week without competition, the Racers will return to action on March 13^th when they open OVC pay at home against Tennessee State at the Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts in Murray, Kentucky.