SPRINGFIELD – It was a familiar script this afternoon at Cooper Tennis Complex, as Missouri State women's tennis racked up another victory in cardiac fashion here after defeating Southwest Baptist, 4-3.
 
"Super proud of the girls today," head coach Ellie Burger said. "Everyone contributed in some way. We set the tone immediately with doubles and carried it into singles. Looking forward to building off this win."
 
The Bears (4-3) closed out their six-match home stand in style. Out of MSU's four dual victories, three of them have came down to the final match.
 
Things looked promising for MoState out of the gate as the duo of Diana Cabrera and Alyson Piskulic took care of SBU's Paula Ballesteros and Elsa Pascual, 6-1, in flight two. Then, in the No. 3 slot, the tandem of Juliette Robinson and Sandra Lukacova defeated SBU's Polina Paunova and Leticia Luiz, 6-3, to secure the doubles point for the Bears.
 
In singles action, no match saw a third set. The Bearcats (1-3) nodded up the dual at one apiece after Robinson fell to SBU's Elsa Pascual in No. 3 singles, 6-0, 6-1. However, the Bears responded right away with a Mary Houston 6-3, 6-2 victory in flight two against SBU's Ghada Dirninger. The Bearcats kept up with the theme of the night, going punch-for-punch with MSU after SBU's Paula Ballesteros took down Cabrera in the No. 1 slot, 6-4, 6-3, to even the dual at two apiece. Cabrera finished the day with a 1-1 ledger against her former school, transferring to MSU from SBU this season after five seasons with the Bearcats (2017-22).
 
Southwest Baptist took its first lead of the dual after a No. 6 singles victory by SBU's Leticia Luiz over Silva Avakian, 6-3, 6-3. With the Bearcats needing one more victory to secure the dual, Missouri State cleaned up in flights four and five. First, Piskulic finished off SBU's Polina Paunova, 6-4, 6-2, in the No. 5 slot, leaving Lukacova's No. 4 singles match to decide the dual. Lukacova took down SBU's Lola Cincunegui, 6-3, 6-4, to ice the dual in the Bears' favor and give MSU its fourth home victory of the season.
 
Up next, Missouri State travels to Norman, Okla., for a pair of duals on Saturday. The Bears begin play at 2 p.m. against Arkansas and conclude the evening at 5 p.m. with a challenge against hosting No. 18 Oklahoma.
 
Results:
Doubles
1 -- Paula Ballesteros/Elsa Pascual (SBU) led Mary Houston/Tiera Jarmond (MSU), 5-4 (unfinished)
2 -- Diana Cabrera/Alyson Piskulic (MSU) def. Paula Ballesteros/Elsa Pascual (SBU), 6-1
3 -- Sandra Lukacova/Juliette Robinson (MSU) def. Polina Paunova/Leticia Luiz (SBU), 6-3
 
Singles
1 – Paula Ballesteros (SBU) def. Diana Cabrera (MSU), 6-4, 6-3
2 – Mary Houston (MSU) def. Ghada Dirninger (SBU), 6-3, 6-2
3 – Elsa Pascual (SBU) def. Juliette Robinson (MSU), 6-0, 6-1
4 – Sandra Lukacova (MSU) def. Lola Cincunegui (SBU), 6-3, 6-4
5 – Alyson Piskulic (MSU) def. Polina Paunova (SBU), 6-4, 6-2
6 – Leticia Luiz (SBU) def. Silva Avakian (MSU), 6-3, 6-3