Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women's tennis set to compete in the MVC Championships
04/27/2016 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
| MVC Championship | |
| Dates | Friday, April 29 - Sunday, May 1, 2016 |
| Time | SIU vs. Northern Iowa - 4:30 p.m. - Friday |
| Location | Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex - Wichita, Kan. |
| Live Scoring | StatBroadcast: SIU vs. UNI |
| MVC Championship Central | MVC Championship Central |
| Season Stats | SIU Women's Tennis Statistics |
| Media Guide | SIU 2015-16 Media Guide |
| Social Media | @SIU W Tennis  | Saluki Women's Tennis  |
By Drew Hoffman
SIUSalukis.com
WICHITA, Kan. - Southern Illinois University is set to compete in the conference championships this weekend, closing out the 2016 season. The Salukis are the No. 2 seed, and will take on the University of Northern Iowa.
SIU finished the regular season at 14-11, with a 6-1 conference record. The team most recently went 1-1 against Valley opponents last weekend. The Salukis suffered their first loss in the conference against Wichita State on Saturday, but quickly turned it around on Sunday, beating Missouri State, 6-1.
Prior to Saturday's loss to WSU, the Salukis had won five MVC matches in a row, and were tied for first place in the conference with the Shockers. The 6-1 record is the best SIU has done in conference since 2014. According to SIU head coach Audra Anderson, there were two defining moments during conference play to get the team to where they are now.
"Illinois State was the first highlight for us," Anderson said. "We had a lot of external stuff going on, and I didn't know how we'd play on the road. We lost the doubles points to start things off, but came through big in singles. The win lifted us up, and helped us realize that we were good. The other highlight had to be the Drake match. It tested our mental toughness, and we were able to come up big."
One big turning point for the team was the Salukis' gradual improvement in doubles play. The Salukis were coming up just short in doubles going into conference play, losing the doubles point in four of five matches prior to MVC opponents. Toward the end of the season, though, the Salukis were able to win the doubles point in five out of their last eight matches. The success boosted their doubles winning percentage to 67%, which was third best in the MVC.
"We just started going for it in doubles," Anderson said. "That's the mentality we went to, to not put as much pressure on ourselves, because we can rely on our singles play. It's helped us become very confident at the beginning of our matches."
SIU will start the tournament facing Northern Iowa. The Salukis have already taken on UNI once this season, beating them, 7-0, on April 16. The team won all six singles matches in straight sets, most notably Polina Dozortseva winning from the No. 6 spot without allowing one point from her opponent. The Salukis also won two of three doubles matches. The conference win was the fourth in a row for SIU at the time.
This is the third time in the last three years that SIU has been a top-two seed at the championships. Under head coach Audra Anderson, the Salukis have won at least one match at the tournament in the last seven years, no matter their seed. For more information about the Missouri Valley Championships, and to see the full bracket, click the link above. SIU's match is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. at the Coleman Tennis Complex.
