MURRAY, Ky.  -  SIUE tennis fell in their first of two road matches this weekend, dropping a heartbreaking 4-3 decision at Murray State on Friday afternoon.

The match did not start off on the right foot for the visiting Cougars, who dropped the doubles point, 2-1. SIUE's lone set victory in doubles play came on the No. 1 court, with Maria Thibault and Jill Lambrechts securing a 6-4 win. The pair of Jordan Schifano and Callaghan Adams fell 7-5 on the No. 2 court, and the third-court duo of Vanessa Reinicke and Caitlyn Sporing dropped a 6-4 affair.

"When the doubles point didn't go our way, we really had to dig in and fight back," said SIUE Head Coach Adam Albertsen following the match.

Down 1-0 heading into singles play, the Cougars split the singles matches. Reinicke notched a 6-1, 6-1 win on the No. 1 court, Fabiola Perez earned a 6-2, 6-3 victory at the No. 4 spot, and Nicole Gomez continued her run of impressive outings with a straight-set victory on the No. 5 court. Jill Lambrechts and Callaghan Adams both fell in their respective singles matches, and the fate of the match fell to Schifano. After shutting out her opponent in the opening set, Schifano dropped the remaining two sets, which clinched the match win for the host Murray State Racers.

The Cougars, who fall to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play, will close out their roadtrip in the Volunteer State with a Sunday afternoon fixture at Austin Peay. 

"We will learn from this and prepare for another great opponent in Austin Peay on Sunday," added Albertsen.