Southeast Falls Short at Eastern Illinois, 4-3 :: Redhawks stand at 5-4 in the OVC, 11-11 overall

April 11, 2007

CHARLESTON, Ill. - Southeast Missouri State tennis (11-11, 5-4 OVC) was beaten 4-3 at Eastern Illinois on Tuesday. The Redhawks put up a good fight but could not finish off the Panthers in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) contest. Junior Bryce Kristal (Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill) ran her singles winning streak to five straight by becoming the first player to ever defeat Sandra Sasidharan on the No. 1 court.

Doubles play got off to a tough start for Southeast as Bryce and Drew Kristal (Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill) fell 8-5 to Natalie Martin and Hayley Homburg in the No. 1 match. Julia Masotti (Moji-Mirim, São Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Integral Aplicado) and Elise Nattier (Flora, Ill./Flora) were defeated 8-1 by Sasidharan and Madina Mambetova in the No. 2 contest to earn the doubles point for Eastern Illinois. Seniors Kimmy Anderson (Jackson, Mo./Jackson) and Luz Garcia (Bogota, Colombia/Troy) bounced back to claim an 8-6 victory over Stephanie Harmazy and Sam Lininger on the No. 3 court.

The Redhawks faired better in singles play as they won three of the six contests. Bryce Kristal became the first player to ever defeat Sasidharan in No. 1 singles, spoiling her bid for a perfect season. Kristal won 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 to improve to 7-2 in the OVC and 16-5 overall in 2007. Her twin sister, Drew Kristal, fell in three sets to Martin in No. 2 action, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. On the No. 3 court, Garcia lost to Mambetova, 6-0, 6-0. Masotti won her second straight match in No. 4 play with a straight sets victory over Harmazy, 6-4, 6-1. She improves to 5-4 in the OVC and 10-11 overall. Nattier dropped the No. 5 match to Homburg, 6-1, 6-4. In the final match, Anderson won her second straight in straight sets over Carrie Larson, 6-2, 6-4. Her OVC record improved to 5-4.

Southeast is now sixth in the OVC at 5-4 and 11-11 overall. They have qualified for the OVC Tournament next week in Nashville, Tenn. and can move up to the fifth seed with a win over Eastern Kentucky Saturday.

The Redhawks play Southern Illinois at 3 p.m. Thursday in Carbondale, Ill. in their final non-conference dual of the season. First serve for Saturday's home finale against Eastern Kentucky is scheduled for 10 a.m. and will be the final home match for seniors Kimmy Anderson and Luz Garcia.