Women's Tennis Edged 4-3 by Southeast Missouri Saturday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A strong showing in singles with three match wins at the top of the lineup nearly got the Belmont University women's tennis team past visiting Southeast Missouri State University Saturday in a 4-3 loss at the Ensworth Tennis Center in Nashville. The Redhawks (7-7) claimed the all-important doubles point and clinched the match with a three-set win at No. 4 singles.
 
Trailing 3-0, the Bruins (1-6) got within a point as both courts one and four went to third sets in singles play to decide the match.
 
Southeast Missouri took a 1-0 lead when Kristina Kozakova and Lera Valeeva topped senior Viktoria Kliimand and sophomore Hana Sokolovic 6-4 at No. 2 doubles to secure the doubles point. Belmont's lone doubles win came at the No. 1 spot where the senior duo of Anastasiya Zholdakova and Aly Getty improved to 2-0 on the weekend with a 6-3 triumph over the Redhawks' Mia Mayerová and Maja Bajorek.
 
After Southeast Missouri won in straight sets at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, the Bruins got on the board with a convincing 6-3, 6-3 win from Kliimand at the second position against the Redhawks' Yontha Tadoum. At No. 3 singles, Sokolovic also took care of her opponent in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Southeast Missouri's Bajorek.
 
Facing the Redhawks' Juliette Demunck on court four, junior Libbie Hamilton bounced back from a 6-3 opening-set loss with a dominant 6-0 set two win. However, Demunck got the final say as she outlasted Hamilton 6-4 in the deciding third set.
 
At the top spot in the lineup, Zholdakova prevailed against Southeast Missouri's Valeeva. Despite faltering 6-2 in the first set, Zholdakova won sets two and three by identical 6-4 scores.
 
Up Next
Belmont heads to Eastern Kentucky next Saturday before hosting Furman on Monday, March 3. First serve from the EKU Tennis Center in Richmond, Kentucky, is set for 9 a.m. CT/10 a.m. ET.
 
How to Follow
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.