PADUCAH, Ky. - The never-give-up attitude for SIUE women's tennis nearly paid off once more Sunday.

The Cougars came up just short as Southeast Missouri won 4-2 in the championship match of the Ohio Valley Conference Women's Tennis Championship at the Larry J. Heflin Tennis Center.

"It was a tough way to end the season, but it was such a hard-fought match," said SIUE Head Coach Adam Albertsen, "I'm so proud of this team with everything thrown at them. They continued to pull together and never give up."

SIUE completed the OVC Tournament with a 17-5 record. The Cougars have increased their win total in each of the five seasons under Albertsen.

The Cougars found themselves behind early by dropping the doubles point. That meant SIUE would need four of six singles wins to capture its first OVC women's tennis crown since 2017.

Southeast Missouri, 17-2, picked up wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles before SIUE's comeback started.

Jordan Schifano gave SIUE its first point in the match with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Ksenia Shikanova at No. 3 singles. Amelia Gorman followed closely with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Vivian Lai at No. 4 singles.

That left No. 5 singles and No. 6 singles. SIUE's Fabiola Perez dropped the first set and stormed back to win the second set at No. 5 singles. That matched never finished as Teona Velkoska held off SIUE's Caitlyn Sporing 6-3, 7-6 at No. 6 singles,

"This group raised the bar and set the tone for next year's team," said Albertsen. "This is an experience our returners can build off and hopefully return to the OVC Championships next year."