Lewis, Gapelu net OVC recognition

Southeast Missouri State senior sprinter Jerika Lewis and junior thrower Courtney Gapelu received recognition from the Ohio Valley Conference for their performances over the weekend.

Lewis was named OVC female track athlete of the week while Gapelu earned OVC female field athlete of the week honors.

Lewis won the 200 meters and took third in the 400 at the Red Wolves Open in Jonesboro, Ark.

Gapelu won the shot put and was second in the javelin.

The Redhawks compete in the OVC Outdoor Championships at Eastern Illinois Friday and Saturday.

Softball

Southeast lost to visiting Saint Louis University 5-1 Wednesday in its final nonconference game of the season.

The Billikens (24-19) scored just one earned run as they took advantage of four errors by the Redhawks (15-31).

Southeast, which was outhit 7-5, scored its run in the fourth inning when Simone Patterson blasted a home run to center field.

Patterson, who went 3 for 3, has a team-high nine homers this year to move into seventh place on the school's single-season list.

Taylor Cowan suffered the loss in the circle, allowing five hits and two runs, one earned, in three innings.

Hannah Clemons pitched the final four innings, giving up three unearned runs on two hits.

Southeast ends the season this weekend with a three-game OVC home series against Tennessee-Martin. There will be a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and a 1 p.m. contest Sunday.

The Redhawks, a 10th-place 6-16 in the 12-team OVC, have been eliminated from contention for a spot in the eight-team conference tournament.

Sunday's game will feature Senior Day as Southeast recognizes seniors Patterson, Cowan, Leah Becker, Xia Wilson and Kaitlin Zink prior to the contest.

Tennis

Ekaterina Donetskova is the third player to sign a national letter of intent with the Redhawks this spring.

Donetskova, from Samara, Russia, is a two-time winner of the singles title at the Samara Championship. She ranked as high as No. 29 in her country in 2009 and was crowned the National Russian Tournament Under-16 singles champion in 2008.

"Ekaterina is strong academically, which is very important to us," Southeast coach Josh Moore said in a release. "When on the court, she does a good job attacking with her positioning. She is good at stepping in and taking the ball early and that leads to a lot of success."

Donetskova joins Valeriia Kashina (Togliatti, Russia) and Annisa Warasanti (Bandung, Indonesia) in the Redhawks' 2013-14 class.

-- From staff reports