April 18, 2007

By Tyler Koonce, Tennis Contact

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri State tennis heads to Nashville, Tenn. Thursday for the O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The sixth seeded Redhawks (11-13, 5-5) face third seeded Eastern Illinois (12-8, 7-3) on Friday at 10 a.m. from the Centennial Sportsplex. The winner will move on to face second seeded Murray State (14-5, 9-1) Saturday at 10 a.m. Southeast is 6-3 on the season while playing at neutral sites.

Head coach Mark Elliott and the Redhawks head into Friday's dual on a three-match skid, with all being close losses. In their only prior meeting, Southeast fell 4-3 to EIU on April 10 in Charleston, Ill. Bryce Kristal's (Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill) win over EIU's Sandra Sasidharan was her first loss of the season after 17 consecutive victories.

Eastern Illinois is coming off a 5-2 defeat by Murray State on Saturday. They are led by Sasidharan, who finished the season 8-2 in the OVC and 18-2 overall. Natalie Martin's record is equally impressive in No. 2 singles. She is 9-1 in OVC play and 18-2 as well on the season.

Bryce Kristal leads the Redhawks with an 8-2 record in the OVC and 17-6 mark overall from the No. 1 line. Elise Nattier (Flora, Ill./Flora) carries a 7-3 record in the OVC in her freshman season. Senior Kimmy Anderson (Jackson, Mo./Jackson) is 6-4 in OVC play. Bryce and Drew Kristal (Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill) are 15-8 as the No. 1 doubles tanem. The expected lineups for both squads are listed below.

#6 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (11-13, 5-5)
Singles
1. Bryce Kristal (17-6, 8-2) Jr., Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill
2. Drew Kristal (13-10, 5-5) Jr., Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill
3. Luz Garcia (6-15, 2-8) Sr., Bogota, Colombia/Troy
4. Julia Masotti (11-12, 5-5) So., Moji-Mirim, São Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Integral Aplicado
5. Elise Nattier (12-11, 7-3) Fr., Flora, Ill./Flora
6. Kimmy Anderson (10-13, 6-4) Sr., Jackson, Mo./Jackson

Doubles
1. Bryce Kristal/Drew Kristal (15-8, 4-6)
2. Julia Masotti/Elise Nattier (9-10, 2-7)
3. Luz Garcia/Kimmy Anderson (8-11, 3-6)

#3 Eastern Illinois Panthers (12-8, 7-3)
Singles
1. Sandra Sasidharan (18-2, 8-2)
2. Natalie Martin (18-2, 9-1)
3. Madina Mambetova (12-8, 5-5)
4. Stephanie Harmazy (3-15, 0-8)
5. Hayley Homburg (15-5, 9-1)
6. Carrie Larson (1-2, 1-2)

Doubles
1. Hayley Homburg/Natalie Martin (16-3, 9-1)
2. Madina Mambetova/Sandra Sasidharan (12-5, 7-2)
3. Sam Lininger/Stephanie Harmazy (5-11, 3-5)