MONROE, La. – Missouri State women's tennis fell to Louisiana Monroe Friday afternoon here by the narrowest of margins, 4-3, in the team's season opener and head coaching debut for Ellie Burger. 
 

"It was a hard-fought match," Burger said. "We saw a lot of good but also a lot of areas for growth. I'm looking forward to seeing how the team bounces back tomorrow against Louisiana Tech and McNeese State." 

The dual came down to the wire as both squads were knotted up at three points apiece with the final match pending, a closely contested battle in No. 4 singles. Ultimately, ULM's Giovanna Pereira defeated Mary Houston, 6-0, 4-6, 6-0. It was the only match to go the distance all afternoon.  

The Bears found themselves down 3-1 before picking up key victories in No. 1 and No. 5 singles. Diana Cabrera took down Alessandra Anghel, 6-3, 6-4, in the No. 1 slot while Sandra Lukacova defeated Mackenzie King, 6-0, 6-2, in the No. 5 flight to even the dual at 3-3.  

Elsewhere, Alyson Piskulic recorded a point for MSU with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Tamara Bachmann at No. 6 singles. Although MoState was unable to secure the doubles point, the team of Cabrera/Piskulic won their match at No. 2 doubles, emerging victorious against ULM's Oleksandra Balaba/Bachmann, 6-3.  

The Bears return to the court on Saturday, battling LA Tech and McNeese State tomorrow morning in Ruston, La., in consecutive duals. Missouri State will face the Bulldogs first at 2:30 p.m. and take on the Cowgirls one hour after the LA Tech dual concludes.  
 

Results:

Singles 

No. 1 – Diana Cabrera (MSU) def. Alessandra Anghel (ULM), 6-3, 6-4 

No. 2 – Oleksandra Balaba (ULM) def. Tiera Jarmond (MSU), 6-0, 6-0 

No. 3 – Alice Klinteby (ULM) def. Juliette Robinson (MSU), 6-1, 6-2 

No. 4 – Giovanna Pereira (ULM) def. Mary Houston (MSU), 6-0, 4-6, 6-0 

No. 5 – Sandra Lukacova (MSU) def. Mackenzie King (ULM), 6-0, 6-2 

No. 6 – Alyson Piskulic (MSU) def. Tamara Bachmann (ULM), 6-0, 6-1 

Order of finish – 2,6,3,5,1,4 

Doubles 

No .1 – Alessandra Anghel/Alice Klinteby (ULM) def. Mary Houston/Tiera Jarmond (MSU), 6-3 

No. 2 – Diana Cabrera/Alyson Piskulic (MSU) def. Tamara Bachmann/Oleksandra Balaba (ULM), 6-3 

No. 3 – Mackenzie King/Giovanna Pereira (ULM) def. Sandra Lukacova/Juliette Robinson (MSU), 6-4 

Order of finish – 1,2,3 

#BearsUnite