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Racers Win 2nd Consecutive OVC Tennis Title

MSU Racer Athletics

The Murray State University women’s tennis team won its second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championship over the weekend.

The team earned an NCAA Tournament berth with the win and will find out who they play next week on the tourney’s selection show.

The Racers secured the OVC Championship Sunday with a 4-2 win over Eastern Kentucky University. MSU released the following statement following the victory:

Lone senior, Andrea Eskauriatza clinched the Murray State women’s tennis victory to become back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Champions. MSU defeated Eastern Kentucky 4-2 at the Centennial Sportsplex in Nashville, Tennessee. The Racers began the match with the same doubles pairs they used during the semifinal match. Alena Vasileva and Megan Blue dominated on court three and won 8-0. We needed one more doubles pair to win to get the sacred doubles point. Eskauritza and Patton came through on court two 8-4 to clinch the doubles point. EleonoreTchakarova and VerginieTchakarova were up 6-5 when the doubles point was clinched. With only four courts on the indoor court, the Racers looked to seal the deal quickly. Nancy Karaky, who had earned OVC Freshman of the Year was the first to win and get a point for Murray State. E. Tchakarova put up a fight on court two, but Kristina Labeja of EKU defeated her 6-2, 6-2. Megan Blue then fell on court three 6-1, 6-1. With the score tied at two and three courts left, both teams knew they needed two wins. Alena Vasileva came through for the team and pulled out a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Eskauriatza had lost the first set, and won the second so a tiebreaker was needed. Erin Patton took the first set on court six. Eskauriatza defeated OVC Player of the Year AmandineFaouzi to push the Racers to become OVC Champions and earn them a berth into the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show will take place on April 28 at 4:00 p.m.

John Null is the host and creator of Left of the Dial. From 2013-2016, he also served as a reporter in the WKMS newsroom.
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