APSU Women’s Tennis drops Southeast Missouri, 5-2

Cape Girardeau, MO – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s tennis team sits atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings following a 5-2 victory against Southeast Missouri, Saturday, at the Redhawks Tennis Complex.

In the win, Austin Peay (9-5, 5-0 OVC) is the only remaining unbeaten team in OVC play, as the Governors handed Southeast Missouri (13-5, 5-1) its first conference loss of the season. The Govs now control their own destiny towards obtaining their sixth OVC Regular Season Championship in program history with one week remaining in the season.
 
The APSU Govs earned their eighth-straight doubles point in a hard-fought battle with the Redhawks that came down to the final match.

The Govs’ top pairing of Denise Torrealba and Honoka Nakanishi gave APSU the early advantage earning their eight-straight win, including their seventh in as many opportunities from the No. 1 position. 

The APSU Govs dropped their first doubles match of conference play on the No. 2 court; however, senior Aleks Topalovic and freshman Yu-Hua Cheng defeated Southeast Missouri’s Vivian Lai and Myroslava Zelenchuk, 6-2, to secure the first point of the afternoon.

With the early advantage following obtaining the doubles point, Topalovic extended the Austin Peay State University lead, defeating Lai 6-1, 6-4 for her second-straight victory. Moments later, Cheng furthered the advantage, defeating Teona Velkoska in straight sets for her eighth victory of the spring.

Southeast Missouri won a pair of singles matches, defeating Jana Leder on the No. 2 court before handing senior Danielle Morris her first singles loss of the year, in addition to her first since April 3rd, 2021.

After dropping a pair of matches against SEMO last season, senior Martina Paladini-Jennings exacted her revenge on the Redhawks, coming back after dropping her first set to earn the match-clinching point.

With the Governors having secured their ninth-straight win, Denise Torrealba continued her stellar freshman season, defeating SEMO’s Romana Tarajova – the reigning OVC Player of the Year and a two-time First Team All-OVC – in three sets. In her victory against Tarajova,

Torrealba now has defeated the last two OVC Player of the Year in Tarajova and EIU’s Rachel Papavasilopoulos.

The APSU Govs have won 12-straight OVC matches, which is the second-longest streak in program history, trailing only a 13-match winning streak from March 19th, 2010 to March 5th, 2011. Their nine-straight wins are the second-longest under head coach Ross Brown, trailing only the 22-match winning streak that encompassed the 2019 season. 

Results vs. Southeast Missouri 

Doubles

1. Denise Torrealba / Honoka Nakanishi (APSU) def. Romana Tarajova / Ksenia Shikaanova (SEMO), 6-3
2. Daniela Hlacikova / Teona Velkoska (SEMO) def. Jana Leder / Danielle Morris (APSU), 6-2
3. Aleks Topalovic / Yu-Hua Cheng (APSU) def. Vivian Lai /Myroslava Zelenchuk (SEMO), 6-2

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles

1. Denise Torrealba (APSU) def. Romana Tarajova  (SEMO), 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3
2. Daniela Hlacikova (SEMO) def. Jana Leder (APSU), 6-4, 6-4
3. Martina Paladini-Jennings (APSU) def. Ksenia Shikanova (SEMO), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Myroslava Zelenchuk (SEMO) def. Danielle Morris (APSU), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Aleks Topalovic (APSU) def. Vivian Lai (SEMO), 6-1, 6-4
6. Yu-Hua Cheng (APSU) def.  Teona Velkoska (SEMO) 6-2, 6-3

Order of Finish: 5, 6, 2, 4, 3*, 1

Follow the APSU Govs

For news and updates ahead of the Governors’ matches against Tennessee State and the Racers, follow the women’s tennis team on Twitter (@GovsWTN), Instagram (@GovsTennis) and Facebook (Austin Peay Tennis).

Next Up For APSU Women’s Tennis

The Austin Peay State University women’s tennis begins their final week of the regular season with Senior Day, April 22nd against Tennessee State. Following their 10:00am match against the Tigers, the APSU Govs travel to Calloway County, Kentucky for a 1:00pm match against Murray State in their regular-season finale.