TULSA, Okla. -- Missouri State's tennis team suffered a 4-3 loss at Oral Roberts Thursday evening in its final dual before starting the heart of the Missouri Valley Conference schedule April 8 at UNI.

"This is a tough loss to bear, but it's the kind of match we needed heading into conference play," said head coach Mallory Weber. "Even though we have taken some hits in our non-conference matches, they have prepared us for what we will see in April. I am excited to see what this team can accomplish."

A tight match throughout, the dual swung ORU's way with a tie-break victory in No. 3 doubles and a three-set win at No. 3 singles. 

The Golden Eagles (10-8) claimed the doubles point with that 7-3 tie-break in the third spot, and led 3-1 midway through singles play after Phoebe Boeschen was the lone Bear to earn a victory in the bottom half of the singles lineup.

Alye Darter and Fati Khamissi finished off a pair of straight set wins at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, to tie the match at 3-3, but the home team prevailed in the third flight, winning by a service break in the deciding set.

MSU is now 5-11 on the year and 0-1 in MVC play with a January loss to Wichita State.

Match Results:
No. 1 doubles - Jovana Antonijevic/Petya Simeonova (ORU) def. Ekaterina Donetskova/Phoebe Boeschen (MSU) 6-1
No. 2 doubles - Alye Darter/Alexia Meyer (MSU) def. Ceijenia Cornelius/Andrea Vasiljevic (ORU) 6-2
No. 3 doubles - Fati Khamissi/Abbey Belote (MSU) def. Ximena Puentes/Brenda Mercado Jove (ORU) 7-6 (3)
Order of finish: 1,2,3

No. 1 singles - Alye Darter (MSU) def. Andrea Vasiljevic (ORU) 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 singles - Fati Khamissi (MSU) def. Ceijenia Cornelius (ORU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 singles - Jovana Antonijevic (ORU) def. Anelisse Torrico Moreno (MSU) 6-2, 0-6, 6-4
No. 4 singles - Petya Simeonova (ORU) def. Ekaterina Donetskova (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 singles - Phoebe Boeschen (MSU) def. Brenda Mercado Jove (ORU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 singles - Ximena Puentes (ORU) def. Alexia Meyer (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 6,5,4,2,1,3