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APSU Women’s Tennis takes on #3 Georgia in first round of NCAA Championship

APSU Women's TennisClarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s tennis will kick off the 2021 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship with a noon (CT), Friday, May 7th first-round match against No. 3 national seed Georgia at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.

Austin Peay State University Women's Tennis set to face #3 Georgia in first round of NCAA Championship, Friday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay State University Women’s Tennis set to face #3 Georgia in first round of NCAA Championship, Friday. (APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay State University (12-3, 5-2 OVC) won its second-straight Ohio Valley Conference Championship by coming from behind to beat top-seed Southeast Missouri, April 25th, in Evansville, Indiana.

The APSU Govs dropped the doubles point to the Redhawks and trailed 3-1 halfway through singles play, but rallied to win the final three matches and successfully defend their title.

Playing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Georgia for the second-straight season, Austin Peay State University dropped its opening-round match to Wake Forest, 4-0, in the 2019 tournament. Wake Forest is also back in Athens for the first round this season and will take on Furman at 10:00am, Friday, with the winner of that contest playing the winner of the Governors and Bulldogs in the second round of the tournament. 

OVC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-OVC selection Jana Leder has led the Govs in singles play this season. Leder posted a team-best 12-3 mark in No. 3 singles and has more singles wins than any other Gov since arriving in Clarksville in January 2020. Leder has also won eight matches in No. 2 doubles this season, Leder has partnered with Aleks Topalovic for seven wins and has won once with Martina Paladini-Jennings.

The Second Team All-OVC duo of Fabienne Schmidt and Danielle Morris led the Govs in doubles play, winning their first 10 matches of the season en route to a 12-2 record on the No. 1 line this season. Schmidt has also won ten matches while playing No. 1 singles this season, she leads all active Austin Peay State University players with 67 singles wins in her career.

While playing No. 2 singles this season, Morris has won nine matches and scored the match-clinching point for APSU in the OVC Championship against Southeast Missouri. After going 5-2 in No. 5 singles to start the season, Topalovic moved to the No. 4 line where she has won four matches for the Governors down the stretch.

Paladini-Jennings has also split time between the No. 4 and No. 5 singles lines this season and has picked up seven total wins. Ana Albertson and Honoka Nakanishi have combined to post a 5-6 record while playing as the Governors No. 3 doubles team this season. While sharing time in No. 6 singles, Nakanishi has picked up seven wins this season and Albertson has won once in singles play.

 

About Georgia

No. 3 Georgia (20-1, 13-0 SEC)

No. 3 national seed Georgia won its eighth Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship when it swept nationally-ranked Texas A&M, 4-0, in the title match. The Bulldogs also won the SEC regular-season title, going a perfect 13-0 in conference matches this season. Georgia is led by head coach Jeff Wallace, who won his sixth SEC Coach of the Year Award during his 36th season in Athens.

Katarina Jokic is the No. 4 ranked player in the country and leads the Bulldogs with a 24-1 record, she is also a perfect 15-0 while playing No. 1 singles in dual matches this season. Playing No. 2 singles, Lea Ma has posted a mark of 13-3 in dual matches and is the No. 55 ranked player in the nation. At No. 22 in the ITA Rankings, Meg Kowalski plays No. 3 singles for Georgia and has won 22 matches this season with a record of 12-1 in dual play. Finally, Morgan Coppoc has won 23 matches this season and is 15-2 while playing No. 4 singles this season.

On the No. 1 doubles line, the duo of Jokic and Ariana Arseneault are ranked No. 6 in the NCAA and have won 14 matches for the Bulldogs this season. Playing No. 3 doubles, the pairing of Kowalski and Ma are ranked No. 39 in the nation and own a team-best 18-2 mark in doubles play this season.  

Ticket Information

For fans that want to watch the Govs take on the Bulldogs in person, tickets can be purchased at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex beginning one hour prior to the start of the first match each day. For fans that have purchased tickets online, will call opens at 9:00am on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are good for the entire day and are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for youth and seniors.

Seating capacity at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex has been increased to 50-percent in compliance with NCAA Championship guidance. If matches are moved indoors, attendance will be permitted to player-guest only.

 

Next Up For APSU Women’s Tennis

The winner of Friday’s first-round match between Austin Peay State University and Georgia will take on the winner of Wake Forest and Furman in a 4:00pm, Saturday, match in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

For more information about the NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament, visit the NCAA tennis homepage. To follow the Governors and their NCAA Tournament journey, check back at LetsGoPeay.com or follow along on Twitter (@AustinPeayWTN).

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