Women Pull Out 4-3 Victory

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee dropped the doubles point, but won the four of the first five completed singles matches, all in straight sets, in a 4-3 Blue Raider victory Saturday over Arkansas State at the Racquet Club of Murfreesboro.

The Blue Raiders (5-11) ended a six-match losing streak with the victory in a match pushed indoors because of the cold and windy weather on Saturday.

"We didn't look that good in doubles for the first time in long time. We were nervous and tight," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "But we looked much more relaxed and played smart in singles and it paid off."

Arkansas State won the first two completed doubles matches to take the first point of the match.

ASU's Roné van Wyk and Ashlesha Lokhande defeated Marlene Chemin and Elvira Yusupova, 8-4, at No. 3, before Reneé Branker and Maria Oprea won 8-1 over Ann-Kristin Siljestrom and Stephanie Parkison at No. 2. Middle Tennessee's Hala Sufi and Claudia Szabo posted an 8-2 triumph at No. 1 over My-Hand Nguyen and Paula Chelminska.

The Blue Raiders bounced back with two quick singles victories at the top of the lineup.

Siljestrom defeated Zeljka Minic, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 2 before 104th-ranked Sufi won 6-3, 6-1, over Oprea at No. 1.

But van Wyk tied the match at two with a 7-6 (4), 6-1, triumph at No. 3 over Chemin. Middle Tennessee retook the lead, as Szabo defeated Chelminska, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 4 before Parkison's 6-3, 6-2, triumph at No. 6 clinched the victory for the Blue Raiders.

ASU won the final match on the court, as Branker defeated Yusupova, 7-5, 3-6, 10-3, at No. 5.

Middle Tennessee hosts Troy Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center in the final home match of the year for the Blue Raider women. Check GoBlueRaiders.com Sunday morning to see if the match has been moved indoors because more forecasted cold and windy weather in the Murfreesboro area.

Middle Tennessee 4, Arkansas State 3
SINGLES
1. Hala Sufi (MT) def. Maria Oprea (ASU), 6-3, 6-1
2. Ann-Kristin Siljestrom (MT) def. Zeljka Minic (ASU), 6-2, 6-1
3. Roné van Wyk (ASU) def. Marlene Chemin (MT), 7-6 (4), 6-1
4. Claudia Szabo (MT) def. Paula Chelminska (ASU), 6-2, 6-3
5. Reneé Branker (ASU) def. Elvira Yusupova, (MT), 7-5, 3-6, 10-3
6. Stephanie Parkison (MT) def. Ashlesha Lokhande (ASU), 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,1,3,4,6*,5

DOUBLES
1. Sufi-Szabo (MT) def. My-Hand Nguyen-Chelminska (ASU), 8-2
2. Branker-Oprea (ASU) def. Siljestrom-Parkison (MT), 8-1
3. van Wyk-Lokhande (ASU) def. Chemin-Yusupova (MT), 8-4
Order of Finish: 3,2*,1

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