MARTIN, Tenn. – Despite a hard-fought match, the Jacksonville State women's tennis team fell short at UT Martin on Friday, defeated 5-2 at the Skyhawk Tennis Complex.
 
The road loss was just the second Ohio Valley Conference setback of the season for the Gamecocks (8-8, 3-2 OVC), while it was the first victory of the year for the Skyhawks (1-13, 1-4 OVC).
 
Trailing 1-0 after dropping the doubles point, two-set wins for Harriet Hamilton and Dariana Prato gave Jax State a brief 2-1 advantage. Hamilton claimed her team-leading 14th singles win with a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Jule Streif at No. 2, and Prato earned her 12th win of the year with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Sina Albersmeier at No. 4. Both Gamecocks improved to 4-0 in conference play.
 
The lead was short-lived as UT Martin won at No. 5 and No. 6 to go up 3-2, but the Gamecocks battled to the end with the final two games going to three sets. Following a 6-2 win for Malin Buechner in the first set of her match at No. 3, UTM's Aziza Aubin won 7-6 to force a third set. Buechner fell 6-3 in the deciding stanza as the Skyhawks claimed the match-winning fourth point.
 
Carolina Bulatovic's match at No. 1 saw the senior fall in three sets to Amelia Campbell with a 6-4 loss in the third.
 
A quick turnaround sees the Gamecocks back in action Saturday, April 10 at Southeast Missouri. The match against the Redhawks in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, begins at 1 p.m.
 
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