Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s tennis is set to return home and celebrate Senior Day when it hosts a pair of Ohio Valley Conferences matches, starting with a 10:00am, Friday contest against Eastern Illinois and an 11:00am, Sunday tilt against SIU Edwardsville at the Governors Tennis Courts.
Austin Peay State University will celebrate Senior Day between the women’s and men’s matches against Eastern Illinois on Friday, with the festivities beginning at approximately 12:30pm.
The Governors women’s tennis team will honor a pair of seniors, Ana Albertson and Fabienne Schmidt, during the Senior Day ceremonies.
With just four matches left in the regular season, Austin Peay (6-2, 1-2 OVC) sits in sixth place in the OVC standings. Prior to the season, the OVC decided that that the size of the OVC Tournament field would be reduced to four teams as a one-year measure due to the challenges associated with the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
However, the APSU Govs will have their chances to make up ground in the OVC standings, as they are set to play the three teams – Murray State, SIUE, and Belmont – that sit directly in front of them in the conference in three of their last four matches.
Heading into the weekend, the Governors have been led by the double’s duo of Schmidt and Danielle Morris this season. Schmidt and Morris have partnered to post a perfect 8-0 record this season, while playing exclusively in the No. 1 position. In singles action, Schmidt has won six times from the No. 1 position and Morris has won four times from the No. 2 position this season.
Jana Leder enters Friday’s match against Eastern Illinois on a team-best six-match winning streak. Leder has played exclusively in the No. 3 position this season, where she has won a team-best seven matches. Honoka Nakanishi has also won five-straight singles matches, she is a perfect 5-0 this season while playing on the No. 6 line.
In the No. 4 singles positions, Martina Paladini-Jennings has won three matches this season and also partnered with Leder to win the one doubles match she has played. Aleks Topalovic has also paired up with Leder in doubles action this season, the duo has won three times while playing No. 2 doubles this season.
Topalovic has also manned the No. 5 singles position for Austin Peay State University, where she has won five times this season. Finally, Albertson has teamed up with Nakanishi to post four wins as the Govs No. 3 doubles team this season. Albertson has also appeared as Austin Peay State University’s No. 6 in singles play twice this season.
The Opposition
Eastern Illinois (3-10, 0-3)
At 0-3 in the OVC this season, Eastern Illinois is currently tied for seventh place in the league standings. The Panthers are still looking for their first OVC win of the season, but they are just one spot behind the Governors in the conference standings.
Eastern Illinois is led by Rachel Papavasilopaulos, who was named the No. 2 player in the 2021 OVC Women’s Top Ten Player Rankings. Papavasilopaulos leads the Panthers with seven singles wins this season, with all her wins coming from the No. 1 position.
Addison Brown and Christine Gouws have been the Panthers best doubles pairing this season and enter the weekend on a five-match winning streak. Brown and Gouws have won a team-best five doubles matches this season, with wins coming from each of the three doubles positions.
SIU Edwardsville (9-4, 2-1)
With a 2-1 mark in OVC play, SIUE sits in fourth place and currently holds the final spot in the 2021 OVC Women’s Tennis Tournament. The Cougars fell to Jacksonville State, 5-2, in their first conference match, before beating Eastern Illinois, 7-0, and Belmont, 4-3, in their last two matches.
In singles play, SIUE is led by Jordan Schifano, who has played to a team-best 11-1 mark in the No. 1, 2, and 3 positions this season. Nicole Gomez and Callaghan Adams have also won nine and eight singles matches, respectively, this season.
In doubles action, Jill Lambrechts and Maria Thibault lead the Cougars with a team-best five wins this season. Lambrechts has also won three doubles matches in the No. 1 position while partnered with Schifano this season.
Next Up For Austin Peay State University Women’s Tennis
The Austin Peay State University women’s tennis team will hit the road for the final time this season to play a 2:00pm, Tuesday match against Belmont in the Music City. The Govs will then return home for the regular-season finale when they host a noon, April 16th match against Murray State at the Governors Tennis Courts.
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 scores, be sure to check back at LetsGoPeay.com or follow the APSU Governors women’s tennis Twitter account (@AustinPeayWTN).
