Antonaki, Racine Advance To Regional Semifinals

TUSCALOOSA, Ala., - Mississippi State women's tennis picked up five outstanding wins Sunday and will be represented in the semifinals of both singles and doubles at the ITA Southern Regionals.

MSU's 41^st-ranked duo Emmanouela Antonaki and Tamara Racine picked up a win against Ole Miss' Lillian Gabrielson and Reka Zadori 8-7(1).

The match went back and forth throughout with the score tied at four different points. However, Antonaki and Racine showed their resilience winning seven of the eight points in the tiebreaker.

Antonaki also had a fantastic day in singles play. The nation's No. 22 ranked player took down Auburn's Adeline Flach in straight sets 7-5, 7-5. After trailing 0-4 in the second set, Antonaki went on a hot streak to win the next four points to tie it at 4-4. Flach won the next point, but Antonaki again caught fire and won the next three to close out the match.

In her second singles action of the day, Antonaki defeated LSU's Ena Babic in a thrilling three set match 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. After losing the first point in the third set, Antonaki went on a tear winning six straight points to finish the match and end her day.

Racine dominated her first singles match against 45^th-ranked Carolyn Ansari of Auburn and emerged victorious in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Racine took a commanding lead of 3-0 and 3-1 respectively in each set and held on to win both.

Racine's second match was a tightly fought, but she fell to LSU's No. 96 Safiya Carrington 6-4, 7-5. Both sets were extremely close with several ties and lead changes in each.

"It has definitely been a good day for the Bulldogs," Antonaki said. "The first match was doubles with Tamara and it was a little bit tricky but we figured out a way [to win]. With the singles matches, Tamara had a really good singles match. She played next to me and that was good because we pushed each other. I had some ups and downs in the first match but I was focused and figured a way out. The last match was intense. Still a lot of ups and downs, but the good thing is I figured out a way."

In their respective singles consolation matches, Alexandra Mikhailuk earned a decisive victory in her matchup against Ole Miss' Lillian Gabrielsen 6-2, 6-4 while Marta Falceto dropped a nail-biter against Adela Wasserbauerova of UAB 2-6, 7-5, 10-7

The semifinals for doubles play will begin Monday at 9 a.m. where Antonaki and Racine will face Alabama's very own duo of Loudmilla Bencheikh and Anne Marie Hiser.

The singles semifinals will be played at 1 p.m. and Antonaki will go toe-to-toe the No. 4 seed, and ranked 69th nationally, Tiphanie Fiquet of Ole Miss.

"[Monday is] the semifinals, so I'm just going to give 100 percent," Antonaki said. "There is nothing to lose at this point. I just will commit and accelerate myself - just be focused and enjoy being here and play semifinals in singles and in doubles with Tamara. Also, our goal is to make it into the final and even win the tournament to go to San Diego. That is a big motivation for us and I hope we are going to make it."

ITA Women's Southern Regional
Oct. 17, 2021 | Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Singles

Round of 16
#22 Emmanouela Antonaki (MSU) def. Adeline Flach (Auburn) 7-5, 7-5
Tamara Racine (MSU) def. Nol. 45 Carolyn Ansari (Auburn) 6-3, 6-3

Quarterfinals
#22 Emmanouela Antonaki (MSU) def. Ena Babic (LSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
#96 Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. Tamara Racine (MSU) 6-4, 7-5

Consolation
Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU) def. Lillian Gabrielsen (Ole Miss) 6-2, 6-4
Adela Wasserbauerova (UAB) def. Marta Falceto (MSU) 2-6, 7-5, 10-7

Doubles

Quarterfinals
#41 Emmanouela Antonaki/ Tamara Racine (MSU) def. Lillian Gabrielson/ Reka Zadori (Ole Miss) 8-7(1)

For more information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Antonaki, Racine Advance To Regional Semifinals

Related News

Players Mentioned

Emmanouela Antonaki

Marta Falceto

Alexandra Mikhailuk

Tamara Racine

Related Videos