Racers Drop Two in Weekend Trip to Birmingham

Saturday, February 27

Birmingham, Ala.

12 P.M.

Murray State

Samford

Photo by: Dan Hasko - Murray State Athletics

3/1/2021 7:52:00 AM | Women's Tennis

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

Murray State endures a 4-3 defeat to Samford and a 7-0 loss to UAB

Murray State women's tennis made the trek to Birmingham, Alabama for two matches over the weekend that featured meetings with Samford and UAB. Murray State came up short in both contests, falling by scores of 4-3 and 7-0 respectively.

"I think the main things we need to take from this weekend are our ability to be competitive against two strong teams, but the fact that both Samford and UAB were able to expose some of our weaknesses – something we will work relentlessly this week to improve on," said MSU head coach Jorge Caetano.

Match 1 – Samford 4, Murray State 3
While Marit Kreugel and Sara Loncarevic teamed up to earn a 6-2 victory over Samford's Alex Konlaev and Ally Hayduk at #3 doubles, it would be Samford who claimed the doubles point after winning their matches at the #1 and #2 positions.

"We did not play our brand of tennis in doubles against them, and that cost us in the end," added Caetano.

In singles, Marit Kreugel (7-5, 7-5) and Sarah Bureau (6-4, 6-2) cruised to straight-sets victories at the #3 and #4 spots, while Anja Loncarevic (2-6, 6-4, 6-2) battled back to prevail in three sets at the #5.
"After losing the doubles point, we were very competitive in singles and I felt like we were in control of the match even though we're were down 3-1. We were up on all three of the remaining matches, but unfortunately we came up short and we weren't able to pull off the comeback. The highlights of the day were Sarah (Bureau) being very smart and consistent in exposing her opponent's weaknesses and using it in her favor, and Anja and Marit's capacities of outlasting their opponents - doing whatever it took to find solutions when things were not going well."

Match 2 – UAB 7, Murray State 0
Samantha Muller and Anja Loncarevic picked up a 6-4 win at #2 doubles, but the Blazers notched the doubles point with victories at the #1 and #3.

"We played much better doubles against UAB and were up 5-4, 5-2 and 5-2 at all three courts at one point. We let UAB crawl back and shift the momentum in their favor in two of those courts, and you simply cannot do that against such a quality opponent. When you have them on the ropes, you have to put them away."

In singles, Stasya Sharapova (6-7, 6-2, 6-4) and Marit Kreuegel (6-7, 6-4, 6-1) fought to reach a third set at #1 and #3, but that would be the closest the Racers came to putting any points on the score card.

"They were able to carry the momentum into singles and we just couldn't find enough answers for them. Stasya, Marit, Sara and Sarah had their chances, but UAB kept closing the door on us. I am hopeful that we are going to learn from this match so we can grow as a team," concluded Caetano.

The Racers will be back in action on Saturday when they return home to host Southern Indiana.