Austin Peay Governors Tennis to open season at Louisville on Thursday

APSU Sports: Austin Peay Tennis

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s tennis team is set for its 2012 opener, 4:00pm, Thursday, at Louisville.

The Govs return three key players – juniors Sean Bailey and John Storie, along with sophomore Jasmin Ademovic – from last year’s squad that reached the Ohio Valley Conference Championship match for the first time since 1987. Ademovic and Bailey were both first-team All-OVC picks, while Ademovic also was the league’s Freshman of the Year.

Also new to the team are freshmen Michael Hriciste, Dimitar Ristovski, Iago Seffrin and Aleksas Tverijonas who all are expected compete for lineup sports right away. With those five players in tow, head coach Malik Tabet has been encouraged with the competition for the remaining spot.

“This match is about evaluating our players,” Tabet said. “We’ve got a young team again and with several players joining us in January, there hasn’t been time to really gauge progress. This match will help us to identify where we are.”

Louisville is hosting the Govs as the second match of a Thursday doubleheader, beginning with a noon match against Xavier. The Cardinals return two starters and have seven freshmen, but are ranked No. 30 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association to begin the year.