APSU Men’s Tennis
Brentwood, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s tennis team was picked to finish fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference race in a preseason poll of the league’s coaches, the conference office announced, Friday.
Eastern Kentucky (49) was tabbed as the preseason favorites, followed by Tennessee Tech (39), Jacksonville State (33), Austin Peay (32) and Murray State (25) to make up the top five. Morehead State (22), Eastern Illinois (13) and Tennessee State rounded out the poll.
“I think we’re stronger than last year,” Head coach Malik Tabet said. “I feel like the through the few matches we’ve played, we’ve shown that we can bring in some results. The returnees understand the level of the conference and they’ve improved. We feel confident about the way we play and the kids have some strong goals.”
Norbiato and freshman Jasmin Ademovic were ranked t-8th in the OVC’s individual preseason rankings. An All-OVC selection a year ago, Norbiato played at No. 2 singles in 2010 and teamed with Bailey at No. 1 doubles. Ademovic played to a 3-4 fall-tournament record, but after working with Tabet to tweak some points of his game, played the spring season’s first two matches at No. 1 singles.
“Jasmin didn’t have the greatest fall because we changed some things in his game,” Tabet said. “It’s paying off for him now and I think his reputation has helped him (in the rankings). Knowing what Sean and Henrique brought to this team, and having Jasmine play at the top of the lineup, shows what he brings to this team.”
Consistency in doubles play is one area the Govs will seek to improve. In the doubles-as-one-point format, it’s imperative to be strong in double play in order to set up the singles matches. Last year, the Govs went 3-10 at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles in OVC play, resulting in seven lost points. With Norbiato and Bailey returning at No. 1 doubles and Ademovic teaming with freshman Remi Calleja at No. 2, Tabet hopes to turn that around.
“We’ll see how it turns out,” Tabet said. “The season is young and we’re still building our game. We’re still trying to improve the way we go about doing things and the way we compete. I’m really looking forward to this season, because the kids want to compete. They have the mindset to do really well.”
The Govs opened the season with wins against Chattanooga and Lipscomb. The OVC slate begins with a 2:00pm, February 27th, match at Tennessee State.
