The SLU women’s tennis team came up short against the Alcorn State Braves on Tuesday, losing the series 3-4.

The match, played through doubles and singles rounds, was the fifth of the season for the Lady Lions. With this defeat, the team is 0-5 for the season. This was Alcorn’s first victory of their season, now holding a 1-5 record.

The Lady Lions went 0-3 in the doubles matches of the exhibition. In singles matches, three Lions managed to beat their opponents. Junior Putri Insani, freshman Polina Paunova and freshman Sonya Kanarskaya won their singles matches against the Braves.

“The truth is you can’t expect to win three singles matches if you don’t win a doubles match. I think that’s what hurt us, we got off on a bad start. We need to focus on our doubles matches. It’s a young team, almost all of the girls are freshmen, so we have a lot of time to improve,” said head tennis coach Jason Hayes.

Despite the losses, the women’s tennis team looks to come back stronger in the games up ahead. 

“I believe we still have a long way to go, but with confidence, we can achieve what we need to succeed. I give my personal performance a seven out of ten, we’re not at our best but we will be one day,” Insani said.

The Lady Lions also have to bounce back with the rest of their members, as three teammates were not competing at Tuesday’s game due to injuries.

Up next for the Lady Lions is a match against the Lamar University Cardinals. They play this Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Southeastern Tennis Complex. To view the spring tennis schedule, click here.