Story by Adam Redfern, Staff writer
Murray State faced off against the Austin Peay Governors (10-7, 6-2) and won 5-2, extending their win streak to ten straight games and clinching a first round bye in the OVC tournament.
With the win, the Racers improved their current OVC record to 8-0. They’re off to their best start since they swept the OVC with an 8-0 record in 2003. Heading into the closing portion of the regular season, Head Coach Jorge Caetano was pleased to get a road win over a tough conference opponent.
“It was a very good win for us today,” Caetano said. “Austin Peay has a very strong team, and they are in the top of our conference. We knew it was going to be a big challenge. Playing them on the road is always tough.”
The teams started off the day playing doubles. Sophomore Claire Chang, from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and junior Jeanne Masson, from Dinard, France, played against sophomore Ana Albertson and junior Helena Kuppig. Chang and Masson controlled the match from the start and finished with a 6-3 victory.
The next doubles match was between junior Amina Hadzic, from Esbjerg, Denmark, and sophomore Anja Loncarevic, from Guilherand-Granges, France, and APSU junior Lidia Yanes Garcia and junior Claudia Yanes Garcia. Hadzic and Anja Loncarevic were able to build an early lead and cruise to a 6-1 win.
Murray State sophomore Sara Bjork, from Malmo, Sweden, and freshman Stasya Sharapova, from Astana, Kazakhstan, took on freshman Fabienne Schmidt and fifth year Brittany Covington. The set was 4-3 with Murray State behind, but the set went unfinished after Murray State won the other two doubles sets.
Murray State took the first point of the match, and headed into singles with a 1-0 lead.
Chang faced Lidia Yanes Garcia, and the two battled for a grueling three set match. Austin Peay’s Lidia Yanes Garcia rebounded from a early 2-6 loss to win 6-4 and 6-4.
In the next singles match for the Racers, Sharapova faced Schmidt and the two struggled to win games in a lengthy three set match. However, Sharapova was able overcome a 1-6 loss in the first set to win 7-6 (7-3) and 6-3.
Freshman Aarja Chakraborty, from Gautam Budh Nagar, India, lost her match, 6-3 and 6-2, to Austin Peay’s Claudia Yanes Garcia.
Hadzic revived her game after losing 3-6 in the first set to win 6-2 and 6-3 over Kuppig. Her win in the battle extends Hadzic’s winning streak to fifteen straight matches.
Murray State was able to claim two more wins in singles matches on the day as Anja Loncarevic pulled out a victory over Albertson, winning 6-4 and 6-0, and sophomore Sara Loncarevic, from Guilherand-Granges, France, following suit to win over Covington 6-1 and 6-3.
Austin Peay remains third in the OVC with a record of 6-2 after today’s match. Heading into the matchup against a good opponent, Caetano preached mental toughness to his players and he felt they did just that.
“Just focus on being tougher than the opponent.” Caetano said “Whatever they throw at us, we are not going to find excuses, we are going to find answers. It’s just up to how much you are willing to compete for every point, and fight even when you are not playing well.”
Murray State will look to win its eleventh straight match and end their season with a perfect OVC record against Eastern Kentucky University at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 14th in Richmond, Kentucky.