Clarksville, TN – With just two matches left in the regular season, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s tennis will look to win its fourth-straight contest when it plays a Tuesday match against Belmont 2:00pm, in Nashville Tennessee.
Currently, in third place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, Austin Peay State University (8-3, 3-2) enters the final week of the regular season still in the race to clinch a share of the OVC regular-season title.
If the APSU Governors win their final two matches against Belmont and Murray State, and league-leading Southeast Missouri (12-4, 5-0) were to lose their final two matches against SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois – the two teams would share the regular-season championship.
If Southeast Missouri wins either of their matches this weekend, they will clinch the regular-season title, but the Govs would still have a chance to take second place in the league from Murray State – who’s only remaining match is against the Govs. If Austin Peay State University defeats Belmont on Tuesday, the Governors and Racers will play for the higher seed in the conference tournament in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
In doubles action, the Governors are led by the duo of Fabienne Schmidt and Danielle Morris, who have played to a perfect 10-0 mark this season. Ana Albertson and Honoka Nakanishi have won back-to-back matches in No. 3 doubles, the duo has also won five times this season.
The No. 2 doubles position has been manned by Jana Leder and Aleks Topalovic, they have won four times as partners this season. Leder also has a fifth doubles win this season when she partnered with Martina Paladini-Jennings to win against Carson-Newman.
In singles action, Leder leads the Governors with nine wins this season and has won eight straight matches entering the final week of the regular season. Leder has not dropped a singles outing since February 27th at Middle Tennessee. Morris owns the APSU Govs second-longest singles winning streak, she has won three straight matches and has won six times this season on the No. 2 line.
While playing exclusively No. 1 singles, Schmidt won her seventh match of the season last time out against SIUE. Paladini-Jennings has also won back-to-back matches, she has won five times this season while playing both No. 4 and No. 5 singles.
Albertson picked up her first singles win of the season on Senior Day against Eastern Illinois, she has played No. 6 singles for the APSU Govs three times this season. Nakanishi has played No. 6 singles six times this season and saw her 5-0 start to the season come to an end when she dropped her first match last time out against SIUE. Topalovic also dropped her match last time out, but she has won six times this season while playing both No. 4 and No. 5 singles.
The Opposition
Belmont (5-7, 2-3)
At 2-3 in the OVC, Belmont is tied with SIU Edwardsville for fifth place in the league standings and is chasing Jacksonville State (8-9, 3-3) for the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament. After Tuesday’s match against Austin Peay State University, the Bruins will play their regular-season finale when they travel to Jacksonville State, Saturday.
In singles play, the Bruins are led by the reigning OVC Women’s Tennis Player of the week Somer Henry and Peyton Lee. Henry has won five times this season while playing exclusively No. 1 singles, while Lee has won a team-best six matches this season in both No. 1 and No. 2 singles.
In doubles action, Lee has partnered with Erin Allen to win a team-best three matches while playing No. 1 doubles this season. Henry has also partnered with Drew Hawkins to go 2-0 this season on the No. 2 doubles line.
Next UP For APSU Women’s Tennis
The Austin Peay State University women’s tennis team will play its regular-season finale when it hosts a noon, Saturday match against Murray State at the Governors Tennis Courts. If the Govs qualify, the OVC Tournament semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, April 24th and the championship is set for Sunday, April 25th at the Wesselman Tennis Center in Evansville, Indiana.
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 Governors women’s tennis Twitter account (@AustinPeayWTN).
