The women’s tennis squad rose to 13-7 on the year when they defeated William Woods University in their final home match of the season. The Bills swept their opponent, 7-0, and racked up their fourth consecutive win and eighth win in nine matches. Before the competition, the team paid tribute to seniors Aspen Cervin, Eleonore Tchakarova and Verginie Tchakarova.
The match opened up with doubles play. The Tchakarova sisters were victorious at the f i r s t spot, 6-2. While Cervin and freshman Ariana Rodriguez fell, 6-4, at the second spot, sophomore Ally McKenzie and freshman Cassie McKenzie sealed the doubles team victory with a 6-3 win
SLU continued to show their dominance in singles competition, winning all six matches in straight sets. At the top spot, Cervin took the victory, 6-2, 6-1. Eleonore Tchakarova pounded on her opponent in the number two spot, winning 6-0, 6-0. Verginie Tchakarova played a close match, pulling out the victory, 6-3, 6-4. Ally McKenzie took an easy victory at the fourth spot, 6-0, 6-1. Freshman Mariluz Rojo Domingo won her match at the number five place, 6-2, 6-3. Finally, Cassie McKenzie collected a win at the sixth spot, 6-1, 6-2.
The three seniors have made a large impact on SLU’s team and their history. Cervin has spent all four years as a Billiken. During her freshman year she collected several impressive accolades, including A-10 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer and a place on the All-Conference first team. She was also named the team’s Most Valuable Player. In her sophomore season Cervin was again named SLU’s Most Valuable Player, and she earned a spot on the All-Conference first team. Junior year, she was an Academic All-District choice, earned A-10 Most Outstanding Performer honors and was placed on the AllConference first team. Entering the current season, Cervin was tied for eighth in singles wins with 68. She has been named an ITA ScholarAthlete and earned A-10 All-Academic honors.
Verginie Tchakarova began her collegiate tennis career at Murray State, but became a Billiken for her last two years. In her junior year, she was selected to the AllConference second team. She tied for eighth place on SLU’s all-time single-season list with 23 victories. Her 24 doubles wins tied for second on the all-time single-season chart as well. She was also selected as an ITA ScholarAthlete.
Eleonore Tchakarova also transferred to SLU after spending her first two seasons at Murray State. In her first season as a Billiken, she was selected to the All-Conference first team . She registered 21 singles wins to tie for 13th place on the all-time single-season list. She also earned 23 doubles wins to put her in fourth place on the all-time single-season chart. Eleonore earned ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition as well.
The women will wrap up their regular season play on April 20 when they travel to Kansas City, Mo. to take on UMKC at 1:30 p.m. Then, the Bills will compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship on April 27- 30 to fight for the title.
