Women's Tennis Falls at Murray State Thursday Morning

MURRAY, Ky. – Taking on the defending Missouri Valley Conference champions on the road Thursday morning, the Belmont University women's tennis team was handed a 5-2 loss at Murray State. The Bruins (4-13, 3-2 MVC) claimed two singles wins and were triumphant at No. 2 doubles, but the host Racers (12-6, 5-0 MVC) were too strong at the top of the singles lineup.
 
Senior Aly Getty at No. 5 singles and junior Libbie Hamilton at No. 4 singles were both victorious for Belmont's two points.
 
In doubles action, Getty and fellow senior Anastasiya Zholdakova topped Murray State's Yu Kikawa and Yuna Kadowaki 6-3 at the second spot. However, the Racers clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win by Valeria Chaikovskaia and Bruna Melato over senior Viktoria Kliimand and sophomore Hana Sokolovic at the No. 1 position. Murray State also won at third doubles where Paola Campigotto and Varvara Alexeyeva defeated Hamilton and freshman Sarah McElrath 6-1.
 
In singles, Getty bested the Racers' Melato in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, on court five, while Hamilton outlasted Murray State's Kikawa in a third-set super tiebreaker on court four. Recovering from a 6-3 opening set loss, Hamilton took the second set 7-5 before prevailing in the deciding 10-point tiebreak, 12-10.
 
The Racers won in straight sets at the top three singles positions, in addition to No. 6 singles.
 
On court one, Zholdakova nearly took the second set against Murray State's Chaikovskaia but was edged 7-5.
 
Up Next
The Bruins continue their road trip Saturday morning at Missouri State, head coach Ellie Burger's alma mater and former program that she led from 2022-24. First serve from the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Missouri, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Next weekend, Belmont closes out the regular season at Illinois State and Bradley.
 
How to Follow
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