Match Summary
Friday afternoon at the Evergreen Racquet Club witnessed Illinois State post a 5–2 victory over Belmont, handing the Bruins a hard‑fought loss to close out the regular season. Having lost the crucial doubles point, Belmont battled back for two singles wins but was unable to find enough momentum to get past the Redbirds, who improved to 13–7 overall and 6–2 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Bruins finish their regular-season slate at 5–14 and 4–3 in conference matches.
Doubles Scores
Belmont fell behind early as Illinois State swept the three doubles matches:
- No. 1 Doubles: Viktoria Kliimand & Hana Sokolovic lost 6–1 to Lana Caculovic & Silvia Pomarolli.
- No. 2 Doubles: Anastasiya Zholdakova & Aly Getty were edged 6–4 by Elena Jankulovska & Emma Lindh.
- No. 3 Doubles: Libbie Hamilton & Sarah McElrath fell 5–7 to Nicole Iosio & Zoe Limparis.
This 0–1 disadvantage put Belmont on the back foot as singles competition began.
Singles Highlights
Top of the Lineup: Senior Leadership
- No. 1 Singles: Senior Anastasiya Zholdakova took down Silvia Pomarolli 6–3, 6–0, keeping Belmont within striking range.
Comeback via Retirement
- No. 3 Singles: Sophomore Hana Sokolovic recovered from a 3–1 first‑set deficit and was leading 1–0 in the second when her opponent retired, giving the Bruins their second victory.
Close Contests and Clinching Fifth
- No. 4 Singles: Libbie Hamilton pushed her match to a second‑set tiebreak but fell 2–6, 5–7.
- No. 5 Singles: Aly Getty battled before dropping her match 4–6, 2–6.
- No. 6 Singles: First‑year Sarah McElrath won the first set 6–4 but dropped the next two 1–6, 1–6, clinching the overall meet for Illinois State.
The Redbirds’ depth proved decisive as they took the clinching singles match.
Looking Ahead
Belmont wraps up regular-season play Saturday at Bradley, with first serve at 10 a.m. The Bruins have secured the No. 4 seed for next week’s Missouri Valley Conference Championship in Valparaiso, Indiana, and will face the No. 5 seed in Friday’s quarterfinal round. As the postseason nears, Belmont will seek to leverage their doubles strengths and ride the confidence of their singles wins as they pursue an MVC title.
