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HomeSportsAPSU Men's Tennis play defending OVC Champs Tennessee Tech at home

APSU Men’s Tennis play defending OVC Champs Tennessee Tech at home

APSU Sports Information

APSU Men's TennisClarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s tennis team hosts the defending Ohio Valley Conference champions, Tennessee Tech, 12:00pm, Sunday, April 7th.

Austin Peay Men's Tennis hosts Tennessee Tech Sunday at noon. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Tennis hosts Tennessee Tech Sunday at noon. (APSU Sports Information)

The Governors (5-12, 1-1 OVC) dropped a close one their last time out, falling 4-3 at league-leading Jacksonville State, the only unbeaten team left in the OVC.

The Govs won the doubles point for the second straight match, but once again came up a bit short in the singles competition. Almantas Ozelis and Timo Kiesslich each won singles matches for the Govs, though. Ozelis remained unbeaten in his career against the Gamecocks and Kiesslich came from a set down to win after a third-set tiebreaker.

Kiesslich is in the best form of his Austin Peay career. The junior has won his past three singles matches and teamed with Christian Edison to win their last four doubles matches. Both marks are career-highs for the Germany native.

About Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles

The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (5-13, 1-1 OVC) do not have the record one will expect after a championship-winning season, but have faced some stern opposition, including a double header against No. 1 ranked Wake Forest. In addition, they have lost 4-3 in five matches this season, including to preseason favorite Belmont in the OVC opener. They rebounded with a 7-0 win at home against Eastern Illinois to improve to 1-1 in the OVC.

The Govs have only won one of the last eight meetings, with the win coming in the 2015 OVC Tournament Semifinals. Last season, the Golden Eagles blanked the Govs by a 7-0 scoreline, with four of the six players in Tech’s lineup returning. However, the big loss for Tech is Eduardo Mena. Mena was one of the best OVC tennis players of all-time, who was ranked nationally throughout his entire senior year.

While replacing Mena might be impossible for the Golden Eagles, Rafael Tosetto has been the frontrunner for that position. The freshman from Brazil was so impressive in the fall that he was named as the league’s No. 1 player in the OVC Preseason Player Rankings in January. Tosetto is only 6-9 in the spring in singles, but has played every match at the No. 1 spot.

Make sure to follow @AustinPeayMTN for all the latest news and updates.

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