EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE women's tennis opened the Ohio Valley Conference season with a 7-0 sweep over Tennessee State and congratulated Head Coach Adam Albertsen for a career milestone Sunday.

Albertsen collected his 200th career victory in collegiate tennis. With his 68th victory as SIUE's head coach, Albertsen reflected on the occasion.

"It's fun to reflect on all the great teams and players that I have been extremely fortunate to be apart of," said Albertsen. "St. Norbert, Adrian, Montevallo and SIUE have been amazing experiences with special student-athletes. I am thankful for each opportunity and all the teams that have put in the work on the courts and in the classroom."

The Cougars grabbed the momentum early against the Tigers with wins on all three doubles courts.

"It was awesome to see how we came out and played in doubles," said Albertsen. "Each court played very clean and focused. This was a great step forward to open up OVC play."

SIUE, now 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the OVC, battled hard against the Tigers, now 1-1 in the OVC and 3-13 overall.

"Tennessee State came in on a three-match winning streak, and I was extremely pleased with how we competed from top to bottom in our lineup," noted Albertsen.

Stefaniya Anikina opened up the singles scoring with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Francisca Gomez-Weis at No. 5 singles. Jordan Schifano bested Aroa Arrieta Castillo at No. 3 singles 6-0, 6-1. Margaux Guibal Britt clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Louise Ratiu at No. 2 singles.

SIUE also collected singles wins from Jill Lambrechts at No. 1, Amelia Gorman at No. 4 and Fabiola Perez at No. 6. 

The Cougars hit the road next to face the defending OVC champion Southeast Missouri on Saturday at 2 p.m.