JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's tennis team fell 4-3 to Kennesaw State on Wednesday at the JSU Tennis Courts.
 
The Gamecocks (6-3) and Owls (3-10) split singles play evenly 3-3, with the deciding point turning out to be the doubles point won by KSU to begin the match.
 
Harriet Hamilton and Malin Buechner topped Taylor Dean and Paola Cortez 6-3, but Kennesaw would go on to win at No. 2 and No. 3 to claim the doubles point.
 
The Owls won two of the first three matches in singles play to come within one point of the victory, winning at No. 6 and 3. Sara Jamal and Balsen Kaya each fell in two sets to Sofia Pinedo and Tina Vlajic, respectively.
 
Hamilton gave the Gamecocks their first points with a win at No. 2 over Cortez, and Malin Buechner kept the match alive with a two-set win over Dean at No. 1. The JSU senior downed the KSU ace 6-4, 6-3 to improve her season record to a team-best 8-1.
 
Alessia Locati drew the match to a 3-3 tie with her win at No. 4 over Juliana Castellanos (6-2, 6-1), but KSU's Pinedo swept Maine Alberteau 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5 to hand the nail-biter to the Owls.
 
Jacksonville State begins Ohio Valley Conference action Friday when it hosts Eastern Illinois at 11 a.m. JSU will follow up with an 11 a.m. start against SIUE on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled to be played at the JSU Tennis Courts.
 
In men's action, Jax State's match against Kennesaw State was halted by rain. The two teams will return to the courts Thursday at 12:30 p.m. As it stands, the Owls lead the Gamecocks 1-0 after claiming the doubles decision.
 
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