Story by Adam Redfern, Contributing writer
Murray State had a disappointing ending to one of its better regular seasons in recent memory with a 4-1 semifinal loss to Austin Peay.
In No. 3 doubles between junior Amina Hadzic, from Esbjerg, Denmark, and sophomore Anja Loncarevic, from Guilherand-Granges, France and Austin Peay junior Lidia Yanes Garcia and fifth-year Brittany Covington. Hadzic and Loncarevic controlled the set, claiming the 6-2 victory.
The day continued with No. 1 doubles in which sophomore Claire Chang, from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and junior Jeanne Masson, from Dinard, France, lost a close one against junior Claudia Yanes Garcia and freshman Fabienne Schmidt 4-6.
The doubles point came down to the last set,with sophomore Sara Bjork, from Malmo, Sweden, and freshman Stasya Sharapova, from Astana, Kazakhstan, dropping a close one to junior Helena Kuppig and sophomore Ana Albertson 6-7 in a tiebreaker.
The Racers headed into singles down 0-1, and looked to turn their luck around in singles.
The first singles match on the day was No. 5 singles, where Anja Loncarevic quickly beat Albertson 6-0, 6-3. Austin Peay answered back in the No. 2 singles spot with Claudia Yanes Garcia beating Sharapova 6-1, 6-3.
In No. 3 singles, Schmidt and freshman Aarja Chakraborty, from Gautam Budh Nagar, India, battled extensively, but Schmidt took the match 6-4, 6-3. With the Racers’ OVC tournament chances fleeting, No. 1 singles Chang lost a tough match to Lidia Yanes Garcia 6-7, 2-6.
Austin Peay closed out the Racers without No. 4 and No. 6 singles reaching completion..
Murray State’s tournament loss marked the end of its inspiring 14-8 (8-1) season.