Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s tennis team will take on tenth-seeded Mississippi State in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament Championship, 1:00pm, Friday, at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville, MS.
In addition to its first appearance as a team in the NCAA Tournament, this will be head coach Ross Brown’s first coaching experience at the NCAA Tournament. Brown, who was hired in Summer 2012, was head coach at Evansville from 1991-2001.
As a low seed from a nontraditional conference, opponents overlook the Govs at their peril in this tournament. Austin Peay finished with a school-record 17 wins, including a program-best 14-match win streak, and placed four student-athletes – Sean Bailey, Jasmin Ademovic, Dimitar Ristovski and Aleksas Tverijonas – on the All-OVC team for the second consecutive season.
The Govs and Bulldogs face off for the first time since 1981, with Austin Peay still seeking its first win against Mississippi State in six attempts. With SEC Freshman of the Year Romain Bogaerts and second-team honoree Malte Stropp, the Bulldogs have the talent but – with three freshmen in the probable lineup – may be short on experience.
The winner of this match will face the winner of the Samford and Harvard match, 1:00pm, Saturday, in Starkville.
Probable Match-ups
Singles (Record at Position)
No. 1 – Sean Bailey (12-3) vs. Romain Bogaerts (13-6)
No. 2 – Jasmin Ademovic (11-4) vs. Malte Stropp (11-7)
No. 3 – Dimitar Ristovski (15-3) vs. James Chaudry (9-4)
No. 4 – Aleksas Tverijonas (17-1) vs. Jordan Angus (10-3)
No. 5 – John Storie (9-4) vs. Zach White (6-5)
No. 6 – Iago Seffrin (4-1) vs. Pedro Dumont (10-2)
Doubles (Record at Position)
No. 1 – Bailey/Ademovic (14-3) vs. Angus/Stropp (9-11)
No. 2 – Ristovski/Seffrin (8-3) vs. White/Ethan Wilkinson (6-9)
No. 3 – Storie/Tverijonas (7-3) vs. Bogaerts/Dumont (7-6)
