Andrea Jameson
Contributing Writer
The Murray State women’s tennis team competed on March 8 against Louisiana Tech at the Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts at 10 a.m. with a loss of 2-5.
The match began as the team automatically defaulted one match because of senior Stasya Sharapova’s ankle injury, forcing the other Racers to step up throughout the competition.
Caetano gave the Racers props to their opponents as they had an automatic loss of 1-0 from the beginning of the match. The team didn’t let their guard down from start to finish through each match.
“We got much weaker in both doubles and singles,” said Head Coach Jorge Caetano. “In singles, Stasya normally plays our No. 1 but due to her injury, everyone had to move up a slot and we had to forfeit court 6.”
Featured players this week include senior Sara Loncarevic, who finished both sets with a victory of 7-5. Sophomore Sara Bureau had a pair of 6-2 set victories with her opponent making court 3 an intimidating game.
“One of Sarah Bureau’s main strengths is really finding the opponent’s weaknesses and adapting to her game,” Caetano said. “She dominated a really strong opponent by doing what needed to be done.”
“We have been missing the extra fire inside of the girls and I saw that during this match,” Caetano said. “The girls were always able to come back and take control of their matches and find our identity as a team. The team needs this practice in order to get ready for next week’s meet.”
Senior Sara Loncarevic made a goal of playing her 100th victory in singles and doubles in matches. This goal had given her an opportunity to make her mark in the next competitions ahead of her with more confidence.
“I am very proud of her because during her first year she struggled and three years later, she broke her 100 mark,” said Caetano. “She is one of the most consistent players on the team and she deserves it. She was down 5-2 in the first set and came back as a nail-biting 7-5.”
Sara Loncarevic and sophomore Marit Kreugel dominated in their doubles match, earning a 6-4 victory.
Caetano is confident that Stasya Sharapova will make a comeback in time to help the Racers take on Lipscomb University at the Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts on Saturday, March 13, at noon.
