Eastern’s 4-3 win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday afternoon meant more than just another win for the Panthers’ women’s tennis team. 

For Luisa Renovales Salazar, this was her last match as a Panther in the regular season before the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.  

Renovales Salazar is the only senior on the team, and she was recognized before the match. She has been at Eastern for the past two years, securing tough wins to help the Panthers record the overall wins against their opponents throughout the season.  

Junior Aleyla Wooten says Renovales Salazar brings a spunkiness on the court every time she plays.  

“She’s not afraid to be loud and let you know how she’s feelings on the court,” Wooten said. “That’s something that the rest of the team is able to feed off of, especially in tough moments during matches.”  

Renovales Salazar picked up a singles win over Paige Duncan, giving the Panthers their first points of the game.  

After her win in the singles category, Renovales Salazar said she was happy to get the win, even though the match didn’t go to full time. Duncan retired for the Cougars, meaning she withdrew from the match.  

Renovales Salazar said she’s going to miss her teammates and the energy they bring to the matches.  

“We just have a great and loving environment,” Renovales Salazar said.  

Wooten said Renovales Salazar impacts the team in a lot of different ways, making sure her teammates feel good while they’re playing.

“Me & Lu[isa] transferred in at the same time, so I’ve really been able to witness her on court impacts,” Wooten said. “She always shows up with a smile and even if she isn’t feeling the best, she will go out of her way to make sure her teammates feel their best. She’s always willing to do more for the team. You can definitely feel her absence when she’s not present, and I think that speaks a lot for who she is as a person.”  

Former Eastern tennis player Addison Brown was in attendance for the matches against SIUE, and she said it was amazing seeing her former teammate win on her senior day.  

“It was important to me to make Luisa feel as important as she makes everyone else feel daily and more,” Brown said. “I think the team beating SIUE for the first time in, I have no idea how long, but I know it’s been a really long time, was the cherry on top to a great day.”  

Along with the singles win from Renovales Salazar, freshman Ornella Lomenzo and sophomore Charleigh Fay secured wins to help the Panthers catch up to the Cougars, tying the game 3-3. Wooten secured the overall win for the Panthers, defeating SIUE’s Amelia Gorman (6-3, 3-6, 6-3).  

Brown said she is proud of Renovales Salazar and the accomplishments she’s had and improvements she has made since Brown has known her.  

“Her future is nothing but bright,” Brown said.  

With this win, the Panthers ended the spring season with a 6-16 record and a conference record of 3-3.  

The next event the Panthers have to prepare for is the OVC Tournament. With the amount of competition there is in the conference, Renovales Salazar said it will be interesting to see how every team does in the tournament.  

“This year, all of the teams are close in level, which makes it even more interesting,” Renovales Salazar said. “We can do this. This gives us the confidence to go to the tournament and see the level we have because we can for sure do it.”  

The OVC Tournament starts on Thursday, April 17 in St. Louis, Missouri.  

Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or at zhflippin@eiu.edu.