Story by Adam Redfern
Staff writer
aredfern@murraystate.edu
The Murray State women’s tennis team saw early success in its fall season at the Austin Peay State University Fall Invitational on Friday.
“It was good for the first tournament,” said Head Coach Jorge Caetano. “We had a lot of good wins and tough matches. It was one of the tougher tournaments we’ve played, and a lot of OVC schools and the other teams from other conferences were good too.”
Caetano saw some good play from sophomore Staysa Sharapova, who finished the day 3-1, earning a semi-finalist spot in Flight A of the bracket.
Junior Sara Loncarevic also had an impressive tournament, finishing as a semi-finalist in singles play in Flight B while also earning runner-up honors in doubles Flight B with senior teammate Amina Hadzic. The Racers’ Hadzic also contributed in singles play with a 2-2 record.
“The only way you can get better is to go out there and try to do the things we work on,” Caetano said. “These fall tournaments are important so we can see what our level is. The good thing about these fall tournaments is you are going to play someone who is better than you, someone at your level, and someone you should beat.”
Murray State will travel to Muncie, Indiana this weekend to compete in the Ball State Invitational on September 21 and 22.