Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Redbird Invitational
Racers Take Three of Top Four Flights at Redbird Invitational
10/5/2026 10:58:00 AM | Women's Tennis
NORMAL, Ill. - Murray State women's tennis won three of the top four singles flights at the Redbird Invitational on Sunday, taking titles at Flights 1, 3 and 4 and finishing runner-up at Flight 2 in an all-Missouri Valley Conference field hosted by Illinois State. Senior Valeria Chaikovskaia's Flight 1 championship also earned her a spot in the ITA Conference Masters.
Chaikovskaia beat the No. 2 seed in the semifinals and the No. 1 seed in the final to reclaim the Flight 1 title she won a year ago. The championship qualifies her to represent the Missouri Valley at the ITA Conference Masters, held Nov. 5-8 in Rome, Ga. She opened the tournament with a 6-2, 6-3 win over a Bradley opponent and took her semifinal over UIC 6-2, 6-4.
Junior Yu Kikawa is a flight champion in back-to-back years. After winning Flight 5 at the event a season ago, Kikawa moved up and took the Flight 3 title, beating Belmont 7-5, 6-4 to open and Drake 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Senior Aada Inna kept an unbeaten fall going, winning Flight 4 with her seventh consecutive victory. The Nicholls State transfer beat the flight's No. 1 seed in the semifinals and the No. 2 seed in the final after opening with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Bradley. Inna has yet to lose a singles match in a Murray State uniform, a run that began with a 3-0 weekend at the Austin Peay Invitational.
Senior Varvara Alexeyeva finished as the Flight 2 runner-up. She needed three sets to get past host Illinois State in the semifinals, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, after a 6-1, 7-5 opening win over Drake.
Inna and junior Ilouna Aneca were runners-up at No. 2 doubles in their first tournament as a pairing. Both are newcomers to the program, and they advanced past Bradley 8-4 in the semifinals after drawing a first-round bye. At No. 3 doubles, juniors Rebecca Widan and Molly Null opened with an 8-0 win over Illinois State.
Junior Bruna Melato reached the Flight 5 semifinals on the strength of a three-set comeback over Illinois State, winning 1-6, 7-6, 7-5 after dropping the opening set. She was forced to withdraw from the semifinals with an injury.
