Fourth-Seeded Bruins Set for MVC Tennis Championship Opening Match

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After going 5-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play, the Belmont University women's tennis team is poised for a postseason run as the Bruins host the first-ever on-campus MVC Championship this weekend at the Beaman Family Tennis Complex. Fourth-seeded Belmont (12-9) hosts fifth-seeded Drake (8-12) in the opening match of the 2024 MVC Tennis Championship Friday morning at 10 a.m.
 
The five-match, three-day MVC Tennis Championship will conclude late Sunday morning with the title match at 11 a.m.
 
Admission to the postseason conference tournament is free. Parking will be available at the Crockett Center garage located off of Compton Avenue.
 
For the second consecutive weekend, the Bruins face the Bulldogs. Last Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa, Belmont clinched the No. 4 seed with a 5-2 victory over Drake. After winning the coveted doubles point, junior Viktoria Kliimand clinched the match at No. 4 singles. She overcame a 6-0 opening set loss to the Bulldogs' Darinka Stepan with back-to-back 6-4 set wins.
 
Drake is the defending MVC tournament champion and ended the Bruins' postseason run last year. As the No. 3 seed, Belmont was narrowly defeated 4-2 in the semifinals by the second-seeded Bulldogs indoors at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Illinois.
 
Going 4-4 in MVC play, Drake enters the MVC Championship having lost three of its last four outings.
 
Friday morning's match features the top two players in the MVC facing each other at the top of the singles lineup. Sophomore Mariia Hlahola and the Bulldogs' Ines Stephani were named MVC Co-Players of the Year Thursday evening at the MVC awards banquet in Nashville.
 
With a win Friday, the Bruins would take on top-seeded regular season champion Murray State in the first semifinal match Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
Follow Belmont women's tennis on social media – @BelmontWTennis on X, formerly Twitter, @belmontwtennis on Instagram and Belmont Women's Tennis on Facebook – for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.