EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Jacksonville State women's tennis team fell 4-1 to top-seeded Southeast Missouri in the OVC Championships at the Evansville Tennis Center on Saturday.
 
The four-seeded Gamecocks (9-10) began their search for a 10th win on the right note, winning the doubles point, but it would prove to be the only point Jax State claimed against the regular-season champion Redhawks (15-4).
 
Originally scheduled to be played outside at the Wesselman Tennis Center, weather forced the two teams inside for their first-round matchup.
 
Carolina Bulatovic and Malin Buechner won 6-4 over Romana Tarajova and Kseniya Zonova at No. 1, while Dariana Prato and Balsen Kaya overcame their competition 6-4 to secure the doubles point.
 
Despite jumping ahead 1-0 to begin the match, SEMO took the first four singles contests to end the meeting early. JSU freshman Dariana Prato battled Ksenia Shikanova to three sets in an attempt to keep the Gamecocks alive, winning the second set 6-1 after dropping the first 6-3, but the Redhawk sophomore responded with a 6-4 victory in the third.
 
Bulatovic and Hailton saw their matches at No. 1 and No. 2 go to three sets, as well, but Southeast Missouri took the No. 5 and No. 6 games in straight sets to pick up the deciding points.
 
Jax State qualified for the OVC Tournament for the third championships in a row, making the Gamecocks one of just three teams to do so. JSU shares the distinction with only Austin Peay and Murray State.
 
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).