JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's tennis team bested Belmont 4-3 Sunday as four seniors played their final home matches as Gamecocks at the JSU Tennis Courts.
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Alessia Locati,
Malin Buechner,
Harriet Hamilton and
Sara Jamal were recognized following the Jax State (9-9, 4-3 OVC) victory over the Bruins (5-9, 2-5 OVC). The win secured the No. 4 seed for the Gamecocks in the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference Tennis Championships.
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The doubles point went to Belmont, but Jacksonville State answered with four singles W's to put the Bruins away. Hamilton began the scoring with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Peyton Lee at No. 2, but Terra Sheldon earned a second BU point with a two-set win at No. 5.
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Trailing 2-1,
Carolina Bulatovic won her contest in two sets at No. 1 to tie the match, and Buechner took a two-set sweep over Erin Allen at No. 3 to put Jax State back in the driver's seat.
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Balsen Kaya dropped a three-setter to Sarah Brackin at No. 6, but freshman sensation
Dariana Prato delivered the win for the Gamecocks by taking a nail-biter of a match that went the distance. After dropping the first set 6-4 to Drew Hawkins, Prato answered with back-to-back 7-5 wins in the final two frames for a dramatic finish for Jacksonville State.
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The OVC Championships are set for April 24-25 at the Wesselman Tennis Center in Evansville, Indiana. The No. 4 Gamecocks will take on No. 1 Southeast Missouri at 2 p.m. on Saturday. With a win, JSU would square off against the winner of No. 2 Austin Peay and No. 3 Murray State. The championship round is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m.
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For more information on the JSU tennis teams, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JSUGamecocksTN). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocks).
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