APSU Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s tennis team looks to get back in the win column, traveling to Tennessee for a 4:00pm start, Sunday and then returning home to face off against IUPUI, 12:00pm, Tuesday.
The Govs (1-9) are coming off a tough home loss to Detroit Mercy, their first home match in more than a month. Three-set matches have been a thorn in the side for the Govs this year, but Jacob Lorino did win in three sets at No. 5 singles against Detroit Mercy, which was the Govs’ lone point in the match.
Austin Peay looks to these two matches as confidence builders before opening up Ohio Valley Conference play. Almantas Ozelis and Christian Edison were both picked in the OVC Preseason Top 10 Player Rankings and have featured at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles all season, respectively. Ozelis and Edison are critical factors as the season begins to take shape for the Govs.
Opponent Spotlight
Tennessee (11-3) is ranked 22nd in the latest installment of the Oracle/ITA Division I Men’s Rankings and boasts players ranked nationally in singles and doubles. Timo Stodder is 20th in men’s singles while the team of Luis Valero and Preston Touliatos check in at 73rd in the doubles rankings. The Govs truly have a daunting task ahead of them as the Vols are 10-0 at home this season, but did lose their last outing on the road at Florida.
The Govs face a familiar foe in IUPUI (5-9), as the two squads already played back on February 17th, which resulted in a 5-2 IUPUI win. The Jaguars are 1-5 since playing the Govs and are yet to win on the road this season. The Govs, meanwhile, are yet to win at home, so at least one streak will be broken Tuesday.
