APSU Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s tennis team seeks to clinch a postseason berth this weekend, playing in its final regular-season matches at Tennessee Tech, 1:00pm, Friday, and at Jacksonville State, 10:00am, Saturday.
APSU controls its own destiny in order to advance for the eighth straight season.
Austin Peay brings a five-match OVC winning streak into the contests. The Govs saw its three consecutive wins mark snapped against Middle Tennessee, Tuesday, but have been strong against OVC competition. Since mid-March, APSU has utilized the same doubles pairings, leading to a 13-6 overall record in conference. Leading the way are Almantas Ozelis and Aleh Drobysh, who are 7-0 at the No. 2 spot.
After taking the singles portion off against the Blue Raiders, reigning OVC Player of the Week, Ozelis, is currently on a three-match run without a loss. Meanwhile, junior Manuel Montenegro leads the Govs in victories with seven, six of which coming in OVC play.
Tennessee Tech (11-6, 7-0 OVC) has locked up the top spot in the conference with its unblemished 7-0 record. The Golden Eagles have won five-straight matches, most recently a pair of 6-1 decisions against SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois last weekend. Eduardo Mena leads TTU with an impressive 26-1 dual record, including 10-straight at No. 1 in the lineup.
The Gamecocks (8-13, 4-3 OVC) are fighting for an OVC Tournament berth, currently fourth just below APSU. Like TTU, Jacksonville State also made the Illinois road swing last weekend, defeating Eastern Illinois, 4-3, before a 4-3 loss to SIUE. Andres Gomez owns 11 singles wins, the lone double-digit total for the Gamecocks.
