West Central Reporter

The Western Illinois University women's tennis team began its fall season with a series of strong performances at the SEMO Fall Invite. The event saw the Leathernecks secure several victories in both singles and doubles matches.

On the opening day, Western Illinois took two out of three singles matches against Maryville and won one of three doubles matches against SEMO. The team also succeeded in doubles play against Maryville, claiming three wins out of four matches. Denver Johnson achieved her first singles win over SEMO with scores of 6-3, 6-2.

During the second day of competition, Mana Fawcett earned a victory by winning 7-5, 7-5. Newcomer Maarja Leinstrep marked her debut for Western Illinois with a decisive 6-1, 6-3 win. Other results included Richardlyne Francois losing 6-3, 6-3; Chloe Routier falling 7-6, 6-3; and Denver Johnson being defeated in two close contests—first to Maryville (6-3, 3-6, 10-7) and then to SEMO (6-4, 6–2).

In action against UMSL, the doubles pairing of Chloe Routier and Maarja Leinstrep secured a narrow victory at 7-6. Another duo, Fawcett and Gueblaoui, clinched their match with a scoreline of 6-3.

Facing Maryville again in doubles play, Anna-Evelina Trush and Denver Johnson won their match 6-4. Routier and Leinstrep also notched another doubles win by the same margin. Francois and Nadezhda Petkova teamed up to defeat SEMO in doubles with a score of 6-4.

The Leathernecks are scheduled to continue their fall campaign at the Redbird Duals hosted by Illinois State on September 19–20.

For more information about Leatherneck Tennis or to follow updates on upcoming events and results, visit GoLeathernecks.com or follow the team's official accounts on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.