CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Jacksonville State women's tennis team earned a win in its Ohio Valley Conference opener Friday, topping Eastern Illinois 4-3 on the road.
 
Junior Malin Buechner picked up her seventh singles win in a row in leading the Gamecocks (8-2, 1-0 OVC) to their eighth victory of the season.
 
Buechner and doubles partner Alba Conejero earned a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles, and Harriet Hamilton and Elena Tendero won 6-1 at No. 2 doubles to give JSU an early 1-0 lead.
 
Cristiana Moll Alles and Conejero then picked up back-to-back, two-set wins at No. 6 and No. 4 singles, respectively, to push the Gamecocks' lead to 3-0.
 
Buechner made it a 4-0 match and secured the win with a two-set victory at No. 3 singles. The junior topped EIU's Abby Carpenter 6-2 in both sets as Buechner improved to 6-1 in singles action this season.
 
The remaining three contests went to the Panthers, but all three points came too late for the home team. EIU's Rachel Papavasilopoulos battled Hamilton to three sets, taking the first set 6-2. Hamilton won the second set 6-3, but EIU's sophomore came out on top in the third with a 6-4 win.
 
The Jacksonville State women's tennis team is back in action Saturday at 11 a.m. at SIUE. Live stats for the match are available on the women's tennis schedule page.
 
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