NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State women's tennis team claimed a narrow 4-3 win over Tennessee State on Saturday to close out the regular season.
 
The Gamecocks (13-4, 6-3 OVC) finished up the season in a three-way tie for third place in the Ohio valley Conference standings, along with Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois. With tie-breakers factored in, JSU is the No. 4 seed going into the conference tournament.
 
JSU jumped ahead 1-0 at the end of doubles play. Genevie Ulanday and Elena Tendero claimed a 6-3 win at No. 1 and Malin Buechner and Alba Conejero won the No. 2 set 6-2 immediately after to wrap up doubles action early.
 
Tendero won the first singles match over Morgan Cage in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) to extend the Gamecocks' lead to 2-0, and Ulanday won a three-set battle over Ani Popiashvili (6-2, 4-6, 6-4) at No. 1 to push her winning streak to three matches.
 
The Tigers claimed the No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 singles, but despite its late surge and victory in the final two contests of the night, Tennessee State was held off thanks to Diana Monsalve's two-set victory over Ashia Jones at No. 4. Monsalve won in back-to-back sets (6-4, 6-1) to hand Jacksonville State its fourth point of the day.
 
Jacksonville State now turns its attention to the OVC Championships, set to begin Friday, April 20 at the Nashville Centennial Sportsplex. The 4-seeded Gamecocks will square off against 5-seeded Eastern Illinois at approximately 3 p.m. in the second match of the day. The winner of the match will move on to play No. 1 Eastern Kentucky at approximately 5 p.m. in the semifinals on Saturday, followed by the championship match at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
 
For more information on the JSU tennis teams, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JSU_Tennis) and on Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUTennis). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks), Instagram (@JSUGamecocks) and Snapchat (@JSUGamecocks).