Semoball

SOUTHEAST ROUNDUP: Women's tennis team locks up OVC Tournament berth

The Southeast Missouri State women's tennis team secured a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a 6-1 victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday at the Redhawks Tennis Complex.

The Redhawks, who improved to 13-5 overall and 5-2 in the OVC, will compete in the conference tournament for the first time since 2007. They finished no higher than eighth in the OVC in the previous nine seasons.

"Today we focused on high energy and aggressiveness," Southeast coach Mary Beth Gunn said in a news release. "Jacksonville's top four players are very solid, and winning three of those matchups was a good confidence builder."

The Redhawks started the day with a 2-0 advantage after JSU (4-14, 0-6 OVC) had to default at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions due to injuries. In doubles play, Isabella Krupa and Oleksandra Doroshenko got things started for Southeast with a 7-5 win at the top of the lineup. SEMO's Kseniya Zonova and Anais Emelie trailed 6-5 in their match, which wasn't completed.

Krupa (No. 1), Doroshenko (No. 2) and Annisa Warasanti (No. 4) each won in straight sets to secure the victory for the Redhawks.

Southeast concludes its regular season at home against Eastern Illinois on Friday and against SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday.

Walk for Women

Southeast honored senior associate director of athletics/senior woman administrator Cindy Gannon by officially naming the special event the Cindy Gannon Walk for Women.

Gannon has pioneered the Walk for Women since its inception 10 years ago in 2007. During then, it has raised well over $500,000 for athletic scholarships.

A crowd of over 400 people made their way back to Houck Field House following a walk around campus, as director of athletics Brady Barke introduced a special video presentation for Gannon, who was caught by surprise.

Gannon later received a standing ovation for a decade of work in helping make the Walk for Women possible.

Football

The Redhawks concluded their fourth week of spring training with a scrimmage at Houck Field.

Southeast used its third intrasquad scrimmage in as many weeks to prepare for its live spring game, which is scheduled for Thursday at Houck Field.

"We will split the roster into two teams and do that for players and coaches," Redhawks coach Tom Matukewicz said about the spring game in a news release. "We are ready to go have some fun as our spring practices wind down."

Matukewicz is confident in the strides his team has made throughout the spring.

"Defensively we have really improved stopping the run," Matukewcicz said. "Jesse Hosket has taken a step forward at quarterback, and I'm excited about our new guys, as all seven newcomers on offense are in the two-deep. My concern at this point is that we are inconsistent with our kicking game, but we are working to get better there."

Hosket connected with Kristian Wilkerson for a 54-yard touchdown pass before he found Wilkerson again on the final drive for a 7-yard TD.

The Redhawks' defense made a key play in the red zone, forcing four incompletions in a row and following them up with a sack.

Kendall Donnerson recorded back-to-back sacks on one of the drives, while Southeast returned an interception 55 yards.

Zach Hall made a play for the Redhawks' special teams, blocking a punt and returning it 20 yards for a touchdown.

Track & field

Southeast completed competition at the Tiger Track Classic with several student-athletes earning top-five finishes.

Griffin Bailey took third for Southeast in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9 minutes, 46.11 seconds, while Anna Thomas placed third on the women's side, finishing in 11:44.80.

Logan Blomquist finished fourth for the Redhawks in the men's discus with a throw of 164 feet, while Wesley White led the way in the men's 400-meter hurdles, placing fifth in 54.03.

Southeast returns to action Saturday in the Gibson Invitational on the campus of Indiana State in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The meet features OVC squads squaring off against members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

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