The Eastern women’s tennis team remained undefeated to start its season after defeating Southern Illinois-Carbondale 4-3, Saturday at the Danville Tennis Center, improving to 3-0.

Not only are the women 3-0 for the first time since 2008, but also Eastern defeated Southern for the first time in program history.

The Panthers won two of the three doubles matches, which gave them the important doubles point in the match.

Senior Janelle Prisner and junior Sephora Boulbahaiem paired up in the No. 1 doubles match and beat the duo of junior Natasha Tomishima and senior Korey Love.

The 8-3 win by the Eastern pair was followed by a Southern win at No. 2 doubles by freshman Meagan Monaghen and senior Anita Lee over sophomore Ali Foster and sophomore Hannah Kimbrough, 8-4.

The decisive match in doubles play was won by Eastern freshmen Kelly Iden and Kamile Stadalninkaite 8-4, over junior Ariadna Cairo Baza and freshman Polina Dozortseva.

In the six singles matches, both teams split, as Boulbahaiem, Foster and Kimbrough each recorded wins for the Panthers, giving Eastern a 4-3 match win.

John Blackburn, Eastern’s women’s tennis coach, said it was a team effort in Carbondale.

“This was exciting because we had contributions from all over the lineup to help get the job done,” Blackburn said in a press release. “Even more importantly we continue to make improvements from match to match.”

Prisner said it was an exciting win for Eastern because the Panthers were able to persevere through tough matches.

“The win just shows that we’re taking steps in the right direction and that’s all we aim for,” she said. “We’re happy we won, but we’re never satisfied.”

Despite the three straight wins to start the season, getting better is still a priority for Blackburn.

“As a team we played well in some big spots (Friday), but I see so much room for improvement, which is exciting but also a challenge for us,” Blackburn said.

The women’s team will play at 7 p.m. Friday on the road against Evansville.

The Eastern men’s tennis team played twice during the weekend, losing 6-1 to Ball State Saturday, while evening its overall record at 2-2 following a 9-0 win against Saint Francis.

The men’s weekend road trip began with a trip to Muncie, Ind., where Ball State won five of the six singles matches and came away with the doubles’ point, winning two out of three matches.

Senior Kevin Bauman recorded the lone singles win for Eastern, defeating freshman Patrick Downs 7-6, 6-4, at the No. 5 spot.

Bauman fell behind 4-0 in the second set, but responded by winning the next six for the match win.

Eric Stark, Eastern’s men’s tennis coach, said he was impressed with the senior’s play.

“Despite hurting and a bit fatigued, he finished strong in a very physical match,” Stark said. “Down 4-0 in the second, he changed some things up and you could see it in his eyes that he was going to come back.”

In doubles play, sophomores Ryan Henderson and Rui Silva won 8-4, earning Eastern’s only doubles win.

At the No. 3 spot in doubles play, sophomore Moritz Kandt and junior David Constantinescu lost 8-7.

Stark said the Panthers had chances to win a match point in doubles competition.

“I thought we did some very good things in doubles and we had opportunities in every match (Saturday),” he said.

Eastern then traveled to Joliet to play Saint Francis on Sunday, when the Panthers swept their opponent, winning every singles and doubles matches.

Although Eastern won 9-0, Stark said it was a slow start for the Panthers.

“We came out a little flat and they were the more aggressive and energized team,” he said. “But I’m happy with the way we stayed poised and move forward by winning the big points and capture the close matches.”

The men’s team will next play at 1 p.m. Sunday against Dayton.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].