SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's tennis battled Illinois State to a close 4-3 loss at home on Sunday.
 
The Bears (3-15, 2-2 MVC) fought hard in the doubles portion of the match. Billur Gonlusen and Tuana Gunal fought hard in the No. 1. The Turkish duo defeated Illinois State's Lana Caculovic and Silvia Pomarolli by a score of 6-4.
 
Gunal's battle against Pomarolli was far from down. The two faced off in the singles half of the match, once again in the first flight. The sophomore lost the first set, 6-1, to Pomarolli before making a comeback to take the second set, 6-2. Since the Redbirds had already clinched the match, a 10-point tiebreaker was played instead of a traditional third set. The two battled early on in the tiebreaker with neither player establishing a strong lead. Eventually, Gunal pulled away and won the set 10-5 for her 20^th career singles win.
 
Sandra Lukacova also took her match into a 10-point tie break. The senior won the first set 6-3 in the No. 3 singles match against Illinois State's Emma Lindh who then took the second set 6-4. Unlike the No. 1 match, Lukacova was able to establish an early lead in the tiebreaker. But Lindh was not going to go down so easily. According to the rules set forth by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, 10-point sets must be won by two or more points. Lindh tied it up at 9-9 to force extra points. Lukacova was able to string a pair of points together to take the tiebreaker 13-11 and win the match. The senior has tallied 39 singles win in her four seasons with the Bears.
 
Raluca Puscas won the first point of the match for the Bears with a win at No. 4. Puscas took the first set 6-4 and was leading 2-1 in the second when Elena Jankulovska was forced to retire.
 
Missouri State will forfeit Tuesday's doubleheader against Lindenwood and Saint Louis. The Bears will play their final home MVC matches against Belmont and Murray State on Saturday, April 12 at 10:00 a.m. and Sunday, April 13 at 11:00 a.m., respectively.
   
Results
Missouri State (3-17, 2-2 MVC) – 3, Illinois State (11-6, 4-1 MVC) – 4
Doubles
1. Billur Gonlusen/Tuana Gunal (MOST) defeated Lana Caculovic/Silvia Pomarolli (ISU) – 6-4
2. Sandra Lukacova/Raluca Puscas (MOST) lost to Emma Lindh/Elena Jankulovska (ISU) – 6-3
3. Lola Federski/Romy Pols (MOST) lost to Nicole Iosio/Zoe Limparis (ISU) – 6-3
 
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
 
Singles
1. Tuana Gunal (MOST) defeated Silvia Pomarolli (ISU) – 1-6, 6-2, 10-5
2. Billur Gonlusen (MOST) lost to Lana Caculovic (ISU) – 6-2, 6-3
3. Sandra Lukacova (MOST) defeated Emma Lindh (ISU) – 6-3, 4-6, 13-11
4. Raluca Puscas (MOST) defeated Elena Jankulovska (ISU) – 6-4, 2-1 ret.
5. Romy Pols (MOST) lost to Nicole Iosio (ISU) – 6-2, 6-1
6. Lola Federski (MOST) lost to Sophie Marie Lowe (ISU) – 6-0, 6-0
 
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 2, 1, 3