CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — The Western Illinois University women's tennis team battled Southeast Missouri State on the opening day of a two-day competition, competing in two rounds of doubles play.

The Leathernecks came out strong in the opening round, with Jessica Hess and Mona Fawcett earning a 6-4 victory at the No. 1 doubles position over SEMO's Bajorek and Mayerova.

Western Illinois continued to battle throughout the remaining opening-round matches. Petkova and Rontier fell to Zemtsova and Huebner, 5-7, while Dell and Souza dropped a 3-6 decision to Tadoum and de Greef. Trush and Dhankhar were defeated 0-6 by Drag and Tsao.

The second round featured another series of competitive matches, with SEMO ultimately taking all four doubles contests.

Hess and Fawcett battled Bajorek and Drag in a tightly contested match before falling 6-7 (5-7). Petkova and Dhankhar dropped their match to Zemtsova and Tadoum, 3-6.

At No. 3 doubles, Dell and Souza pushed Mayerova and Huebner to a tiebreak before falling 6-7 (3-7). Trush and Rontier also fought hard but were defeated 3-6 by de Greef and Tsao.

Despite the results, the Leathernecks showed resilience throughout the opening day, competing hard and pushing several matches deep into close sets and tiebreaks.

Western Illinois will look to regroup and come back stronger when the two teams return to the court for Day Two of competition.

The Leathernecks will have another opportunity tomorrow to turn the momentum in their favor and close out the two-day matchup on a strong note.

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