APSU Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s tennis team plays a pair of matches this weekend, starting with a 4:00pm, Friday, February 23rd contest at Louisville and then returning home for an 11:00am, Saturday match against IUPUI.
The Govs (1-4) have been unlucky this season, as they have been within one point of winning their last two matches.
Junior standout Claudia Yanes Garcia has been injured since the season’s first match, meaning the Govs have had only five players in almost every match this season, forcing them to forfeit at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles.
However, other players have stepped up, namely Claudia’s twin sister Lidia Yanes Garcia and freshman Fabienne Schmidt. Lidia stepped into her sister’s spot at No. 1 singles and had to adjust to her new partner in Schmidt at No. 1 doubles and is undefeated in all matches since. Schmidt has not been too shabby in her own right, winning all matches with Lidia after moving from No. 3 doubles and winning three of four singles matches after moving to No. 2 singles from No. 3 singles.
“The girls have been competing hard,” said Govs assistant coach Maria Sorbello. “They are very determined to get through this tough patch with the right attitude. We’ve had close matches since Claudia has been out, with all being winnable matches. We are moving forward with working on mentally having the right state of mind frame in our non-conference matches, so it can spring us into conference with an upper hand,” said Sorbello.
Opponent Spotlight
Louisville (10-1) is a daunting task for the Govs, as the Cardinals have rolled through most of their opponents to start the year. The Cardinals are undefeated at home this year, outscoring opponents 48-4 in home matches. Louisville and APSU have played two common opponents this year, with Louisville romping Dayton 7-0 at home and narrowly squeaking by Middle Tennessee 4-3 on the road.
IUPUI (3-5) has had a much more subdued start to the season. The Jaguars have lost two straight, including a 5-0 loss to Dayton on the road, the only common opponent between the Jaguars and Govs this season. However, IUPUI has collected two of their three wins on the road this year.
