SEMO women's tennis was selected to finish the 2021 season third in the Ohio Valley Conference. Romana Tarajova was also named to the preseason top 10 player rankings for a second-straight season.
In the small sample size that was the 2020 season, SEMO fashioned a 4-6 non-conference dual mark with victories over Saint Louis, Lipscomb, Missouri State and Kansas City.
The 2019 Redhawks finished as semifinalists at the OVC Championship and compiled a 12-10 record with a .500 mark (4-4) in conference. The first round victory in 2019 marked the first win at the Championship in 16 years for SEMO.
Last weekend, the Redhawks played tough at SEC-opponent Mizzou, dropping the first of two matches by a close 4-3 score.
SEMO opens its 2021 conference slate on Friday, March 19 at UT Martin.
Tarajova, the 2019 OVC Freshman of the Year and First Team honoree, was picked to her second consecutive preseason team. She is coming off a hard fought victory against Mizzou this past weekend in the no. 2 singles position, which according to head coach Mary Beth Gunn, is an indicator of the high level she is playing at. She and partner Daniela Hlacikova also registered a doubles victory at Mizzou.
Tarajova became the third tennis player in SEMO history to win OVC Freshman of the Year in 2019 after she was second on the team with a 13-5 dual singles record at the top position.
Austin Peay, the 2019 OVC Champions, was picked to top the conference with 64 points and eight first-place votes in 2021. Murray State earned a first-place vote and was second with 52 points. SEMO garnered 46 points for third in the predicted order of finish, voted on by OVC head coaches.
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