Women's Tennis Advances in MVC Tennis Championship

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Opening the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championship in high drama, the Belmont University women's tennis team overcame a 3-2 deficit against defending tournament champion Drake for a 4-3 quarterfinal victory Friday afternoon at the Beaman Family Tennis Complex. Hosting the first-ever on-campus MVC Championship, the Bruins (13-9) clawed their way through three-set singles wins at the third and fourth spots in the lineup.
 
It was junior Anastasiya Zholdakova who prevailed in three sets at No. 3 singles to clinch the match after fellow junior Viktoria Kliimand bounced back from an opening set tiebreaker loss at No. 4 singles with a pair of dominant set victories.
 
Freshman Vesa Gjinaj provided the most impressive performance of the day as she conceded only four games to the Bulldogs' Mille Haagensen in a convincing 6-1, 6-3 singles win on court two.
 
Despite Drake (8-13) having only five available players and having to default No. 3 doubles, the Bulldogs took the coveted doubles point. The top duo of Ines Stephani and Rebecca Ehn upended Zholdakova and sophomore Mariia Hlahola 6-3 as Haagensen and Darinka Stepan defeated Kliimand and Gjinaj 6-4 at No. 2 doubles.
 
Although fifth-seeded Drake won the doubles point, the match was knotted at 1-1 as the Bulldogs also had to default No. 6 singles. At the top singles spot, Stephani was first off the court with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Hlahola in a matchup of the MVC Co-Players of the Year. Fourth-seeded Belmont then evened the match once again at 2-2 with Gjinaj's straight-set triumph at No. 2 singles.
 
The visitors took a 3-2 advantage when Drake's Nicole Lee got past junior Aly Getty 6-2, 7-5 at the No. 5 spot. Kliimand nearly came back from a 5-2 deficit in the first set against Stepan on court four, but ultimately fell 7-2 in a tiebreaker. After the tiebreak, Kliimand cruised in sets two and three, 6-2, 6-1.
 
With the match in the balance, Zholdakova had recovered from a 6-1 opening set loss to Ehn on court three with a 6-4 second set win. In the decisive third, Zholdakova built a commanding 5-2 lead and served out the match at 5-3 to secure the thrilling quarterfinal triumph.
 
Up Next
The Bruins face top-seeded regular season champion Murray State in the first semifinal match of the MVC Tennis Championship Saturday afternoon. First serve from the Music City is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
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