Women's Tennis To Play for Two MVC Individual Titles Sunday

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – For the second consecutive year, the Belmont University women's tennis team will play for a pair of Missouri Valley Conference individual titles Sunday at the 2023 MVC Individual Championships in Springfield, Missouri. Sophomore Mariia Hlahola and junior Anastasiya Zholdakova have reached the finals in the top singles and doubles flights following dominant wins Saturday at Missouri State's Cooper Tennis Complex.
 
The Bruins claimed five combined singles and doubles victories on the second day of the three-day championship event. Both junior Aly Getty and sophomore Libbie Hamilton will also go for fifth place on Sunday in the No. 5 and No. 6 singles flights, respectively, while the freshman duo of Vesa Gjinaj and Hana Sokolovic seek third place in the second doubles flight.
 
For the second-straight day, Hlahola and Zholdakova were unmatched. The tandem dismantled Murray State's Annika Pschorr and Sarah Bureau 8-5 in the semifinals of the No. 1 doubles flight Saturday morning. They will face Drake's Ines Stephani and Oriana Parkins-Godwin Sunday morning in the top doubles final.
 
In the semifinals of the No. 1 singles bracket, Hlahola cruised past Illinois State's Tijana Zlatanovic 6-0, 6-3. The reigning MVC Co-Freshman of the Year will take on the reigning Valley Player of the Year, the Bulldogs' Stephani, Sunday in the title match of the top singles flight.
 
Despite taking the opening set 6-4 against the Redbirds' Nevena Kolarevic, Gjinaj was unable to close things out in the second or third set in the semifinals of the No. 2 singles flight. Kolarevic went on to win sets two and three 6-2, 6-1.
 
In the No. 4 singles flight, junior Viktoria Kliimand outlasted the host Bears' Tuana Gunal in a tightly-contested three-set match. She took the opening set in a 9-7 tiebreaker before Gunal evened the match up with a 6-4 set two win. In the deciding third set super tiebreak, Kliimand prevailed 10-8. Illinois State's Silvia Pomarolli then got past Kliimand in the semifinals of the fifth-place bracket, 6-1, 6-4.
 
Getty ousted the University of Illinois Chicago's Anais Brion 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 5 singles flight Saturday and will contend for fifth place against Bradley's Mariia Pukhina Sunday. Hamilton was leading the Braves' Alexandra Hildreth 7-5, 1-0 in the No. 6 singles bracket when Hildreth retired due to injury. With the win, Hamilton will play Drake's Nicole Lee Sunday for the bracket's fifth place.
 
Belmont's complete Saturday results can be found below.
 
No. 1 Doubles Flight
Mariia Hlahola/Anastasiya Zholdakova (Belmont) def. Annika Pschorr/Sarah Bureau (Murray State) 8-5
 
No. 2 Doubles Flight
Nevena Kolarevic/Silvia Pomarolli (Illinois State) def. Vesa Gjinaj/Hana Sokolovic (Belmont) 8-3
 
No. 1 Singles Flight
Mariia Hlahola (Belmont) def. Tijana Zlatanovic (Illinois State) 6-0, 6-3
 
No. 2 Singles Flight
Nevena Kolarevic (Illinois State) def. Vesa Gjinaj (Belmont) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
 
No. 3 Singles Flight
Juliette Robinson (Missouri State) def. Hana Sokolovic (Belmont) by default (injury)
 
No. 4 Singles Flight
Viktoria Kliimand (Belmont) def. Tuana Gunal (Missouri State) 7-6 (7), 4-6, 10-8
Silvia Pomarolli (Illinois State) def. Viktoria Kliimand (Belmont) 6-1, 6-4
 
No. 5 Singles Flight
Aly Getty (Belmont) def. Anais Brion (UIC) 6-3, 6-1
 
No. 6 Singles Flight
Libbie Hamilton (Belmont) def. Alexandra Hildreth (Bradley) 7-5, 1-0 (default-injury)
 
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