Andrea Jameson
Contributing Writer
The Murray State women’s tennis team competed against Lipscomb University on March 13 and Western Kentucky University on March 14. The team took home the match with a 4-3 win in both games.
Lipscomb
The Racers earned all four points of the first match in singles play. Senior Sara Loncarevic, freshman Sarah Bureau and Anja Loncarevic won their matches in straight sets. Freshman Gabrielle Geolier took her opponent three sets but secured the fourth point for the Racers.
Featured players in the doubles match include Sara Loncarevic and sophomore Marit Kreugel, who were unable to close the first round of the match with a score of 6-6 against Lipscomb. Bureau and Anja Loncarevic finished one round with scores of 6-4, while Geolier and Stasya Sharapova had a close match with scores of 7-6.
Head Coach Jorge Ceatano said he was proud of the doubles match but said he knew Lipscomb was a tough opponent to beat. Caetano said that the team showed a lot of grit and power through the tournament with an overall team effort.
Western Kentucky University
The match against WKU on Sunday, March 14, highlighted players who are unable to finish their doubles match. Bureau and Anja Loncarevic fell 4-3 in the first match while Sara Loncarevic and Kreugal were unable to gain a point with a score of 6-0.
Geolier and Sharapova did their best to gain the point in the first match with an ending score of 6-2.
“For some reason our energy was low and we let WKU dominate us from the beginning and I felt like we did not fight back,” said Caetano.
The singles matches went differently for the Racers. Geolier, Anja Loncarevic, Kreugel and Sara Loncarevic kept their opponents on the court with scores being 6-2-6, 6-5-6, 6-5-5 and 2-6-6.
“Anja was playing some of the best tennis I have ever seen her play,” Caetano said. “She had a little setback in the second set, but came back with the right mindset in the third, playing with a lot of confidence and being clutch when the match was up for grabs.”
Caetano said the team fought for every point during the singles matches and he feels proud of the win, especially since WKU was such a big rival for Murray State.
Murray State will host the next tournament at the Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts on March 20 at noon with a match against Belmont University.
