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Austin Peay State University Women’s Tennis begins 2021 Season Sunday against Central Arkansas

APSU Women's TennisClarksville, TN – After last year’s title-defense season for Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s tennis was abruptly ended, the reigning 2018-19 Ohio Valley Conference Champions will take the court for the first time in 331 days when they host Central Arkansas for a 12:00pm, Sunday, January 24th, 2021 match at the indoor courts at Hadley Park in Nashville.

Austin Peay State University Women's Tennis kicks off 2021 Season playing Central Arkansas. (APSU Sports Information)

The Governors return nearly everybody from last year’s team that was picked to win the OVC for the second-consecutive season.

Senior Fabienne Schmidt is the top returner for the Governors, the Hillscheid, Germany, native was named the No. 2 player in the conference in last season’s Preseason Top 10 Player Rankings and was off to a 9-2 start in the No. 1 singles position before the season was ended.

Also returning for the Govs is Danielle Morris, who was named the No. 6 player in the 2019-20 OVC Preseason Top 10 Player Rankings. Morris went 9-3 in singles action last spring, winning eight times in the No. 2 position and once in the No.1 position.

Martina Paladini-Jennings was the final Governor named to the OVC Preseason Top 10 Rankings last season, and she claimed the No. 10 spot on that list. The junior transferred to Austin Peay from East Carolina before last season and proceeded to go 8-2 in singles play while playing mostly in the No. 3 and No. 4 positions.

After joining the Govs in January of 2020, Jana Leder made an immediate impact on the shortened spring season, winning the first 10 singles matches of her collegiate career. Leder played mostly in the No. 3 position, but won once on the No. 2 line and finished the spring with a singles mark of 10-1.

Aleks Topalovic transferred from Memphis to Austin Peay before last season and the London native posted a mark of 5-4 in spring-singles play. Topalvoic won three times in the No. 4 position and won a pair of matches on the No. 5 line.

Graduate senior Ana Albertson is set for her fifth year in Clarksville. The Woodstock, Georgia, product held down the No. 6 position for the Governors last spring, where she played to a 5-2 mark in dual matches. Alberton was also one of the Govs top doubles players, she psoted a 9-1 mark in doubles action while playing exclusively from the No. 3 position last spring.

Finally, Honoka Nakanishi returns for her third season at Austin Peay State University. The native of Kashiwa, Japan, did not play at all last season but compiled a 13-2 mark in doubles play in the spring of 2019.

 

The Opposition

Central Arkansas (0-5)

All-time series: Austin Peay leads 2-1

Last Meeting: Austin Peay State University traveled to Central Arkansas, January 24th, 2020, and fell behind early after dropping the doubles point to the Sugar Bears. The Governors bounced back in singles play, with Leder and Sarah Heckel winning the first two matches in the No. 3 and No. 6 positions, respectively, to retake the lead. After Central Arkansas won the No. 2 singles match, Schmidt won on the No. 1 line before Paladini-Jennings sealed the victory for Austin Peay with a win in the No. 4 matchup.

Central Arkansas is off to a slow start to their season; the 0-5 Sugar Bears are still searching for their first win. Central Arkansas kicked off the spring slate with a pair of home losses to Missouri, before falling to Wyoming, Tulsa, and Louisiana Tech at the TCU Invite in Fort Worth, Texas.

Next Up For APSU Women’s Tennis

The Austin Peay State University women’s tennis team will hit the road for four-straight matches, starting with a February 14th match at Chattanooga. The Govs will then travel to Carson-Newman, Middle Tennessee, and North Alabama before returning home for an 11:00am, March 9th match against Illinois State.

 

 

In the time of COVID-19 Coronavirus, there is always a chance that a match will be postponed or not come to fruition.

For news, scheduling changes, and match-time updates, be sure to check back at LetsGoPeay.com or follow the Governors women’s tennis Twitter account (@AustinPeayWTN).

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