Nashville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s tennis team saw its season come to a close after a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Eastern Illinois, Friday, at Centennial Sportsplex, in the first round of the OVC Tournament.
The Governors (6-15, 2-3 OVC) won at No. 2 and No. 4 singles thanks to Christian Edison and Timo Kiesslich, but saw the Panthers (14-14, 1-4 OVC) claim the doubles point and wins at No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 singles.
The Govs got off to a bright start, with Almantas Ozelis and Anton Damberg winning 6-1 at No. 1 doubles, but EIU responded with a win at No. 3 doubles shortly after. Christian Edison and Timo Kiesslich were leading 4-3 at No. 2 doubles, but the Panthers came back to claim the doubles point with a 7-5 win.
Edison started with promise, easily taking the first set of his match at No. 2 singles, 6-1. Ozelis came back from 5-2 down in the first set to win, 7-5, and Kiesslich won the first set at No. 4 singles, but the Panthers won the other three first sets to keep pace.
Edison tied the match up at one with a 6-1, 6-3 win, with Kiesslich pushing out a 5-0 second-set advantage. Kiesslich received some resistance from his opponent, but closed out the set, 6-2, to put the Govs in front, 2-1. However, while all that was going on, EIU took control of the second sets at No. 3 and No. 6, as well as coming down from 5-2 to force a second-set tiebreak at No. 5 singles. EIU won the tiebreak to even the match up at 2-2.
Ozelis was comfortably ahead in the second set of his match, 5-2, but EIU earned simultaneous wins at No. 3 and No. 6 singles to clinch the match. It marked the last match in a Gov uniform for Ozelis, Chad Woodham, and Hunter Sanders.
Box Score
Eastern Illinois 4, Austin Peay 2
Doubles
1. Almantas Ozelis/Anton Damberg (APSU) def. JANSEN, Mike/DE WILDER, Gertjan (EIU) 6-1
2. KINGSMITH, Gage/HERNANDEZ, Daniel (EIU) def. Christian Edison/Timo Kiesslich (APSU) 7-5
3. O’BRIEN, Freddie/CHARBONNEAU, Logan (EIU) def. Jacob Lorino/Chad Woodham (APSU) 6-1
Singles
1. Almantas Ozelis (APSU) vs. O’BRIEN, Freddie (EIU) 7-5, 5-4, unfinished
2. Christian Edison (APSU) def. JANSEN, Mike (EIU) 6-1, 6-3
3. HERNANDEZ, Daniel (EIU) def. Anton Damberg (APSU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Timo Kiesslich (APSU) def. DE WILDER, Gertjan (EIU) 7-5, 6-2
5. KINGSMITH, Gage (EIU) def. Jacob Lorino (APSU) 6-4, 7-6
6. CHARBONNEAU, Logan (EIU) def. Hunter Sanders (APSU) 7-5, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,4,5,6,3)