APSU Women’s Tennis
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s tennis team returns to action with a three matches in four days, beginning with a 2:00pm, Friday match at Southern Illinois. The Lady Govs continue on the road with a 10:00am, Saturday Ohio Valley Conference match at Southeast Missouri, before returning to Clarksville for a 2:00pm, Monday match against Kennesaw State.
“We’re looking forward to these matches,” head coach Malik Tabet said. “We played Southern Illinois tough last year and it’s going to be another tough one this time.”
The Lady Govs have enjoyed the services of junior Vanja Tomic, at No. 1 singles, and sophomore Carolin Weikard, at No. 2 singles. Also playing well on the singles side are the three freshmen; Andra Cornea, Kimberly Loo and Rachel Margolies. The Lady Govs have been without a No. 6 singles player due to injuries.
Southern Illinois has been hot as of late, winning its fifth-straight match, 5-2, against Murray State, Sunday. The streak includes wins against the Racers, UT Martin and Eastern Illinois. The Salukis have not only played well in singles, but have not lost a doubles point in the last five games.
“Southeast Missouri is a big match because we’re ready for OVC play to start,” Tabet said. “We need tough matches, like Xavier and Miami (Ohio), to help us evaluate ourselves. It’s that kind of competition that helps us get ready.”
The Redhawks will play host to Tennessee State, Friday, before the Lady Govs make their way to Cape Girardeau, MO. Southeast Missouri is 0-4 overall, as of March 3, including a 6-1 OVC loss to Morehead State. Nikole Novikova leads the Redhawks with a 2-2 No. 1 singles record. They have only one doubles win through four matches.
“We take it like any other match,” Tabet said. “We know how important the conference season is, and of course we want to win those matches. We really want to peak towards the end of the season and that’s what we plan on doing.”
