Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s tennis team earned its first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the season, defeating Eastern Illinois in a 6-1 match, Saturday, at the Governors Tennis Courts.
The Governors (5-6, 1-1 OVC) claimed the early advantage in doubles, with their top pairing of Frederic Schlossmann and Anton Damberg defeating Eastern Illinois’ Christos Kyrillou and Thomas Wallace, 6-4. Schlossmann and Damberg improve to 5-2 on the season in doubles play and have won three of their last four matches.
Senior Oliver Andersson and freshman Hogan Stoker claimed the doubles point in their fourth win together of the spring. The dup won defeated EIIU’s Tyler Carlin and Max Pilipovic-Kljajic, 7-3, in the tiebreaker.
Bolton’s singles match was the first to go final, as the Wellington, New Zealand native extended the Govs’ lead with a straight-set victory against Carlin.
Schlossmann won his second-straight match from the No. 1 position, defeating Brandon, 6-3, 6-0, to match Damberg for team-best five wins in singles play.
Leading 3-0, Andersson secured the Govs’ first OVC win of the season, winning a pair of 6-3 sets from the No. 2 singles court.
After dropping his first set, 6-2 from the No. 3 position, Damberg rallied to defeat Cameron Slabbert 6-2, 6-3, in the proceeding sets to pick up the Govs’ fifth point of the afternoon.
With the win already well in hand, Becchis won in a pair of convincing sets from the No. 5 position, 6-2, 6-3, for his third win of the spring.
Eastern Illinois claimed their only point of the afternoon after Thiago Nogueira dropped his match from the No. 6 line.
Results vs. Eastern Illinois
Doubles
- Frederic Schlossmann / Anton Damberg (APSU) def. Christos Kyrillou / Thomas Wallace (EIU), 6-4
- Cameron Slabbert / Leighton Brandon (EIU) def. Tom Bolton / Giovanni Becchis (APSU), 6-4)
- Oliver Andersson / Hogan Stoker (ASPU) def. Tyler Carlin / Max Pilipovic-Kljajic (EIU), 7-6 (7-3)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
Singles
- Frederic Schlossmann (APSU) Leighton Brandon (EIU), 6-3, 6-0
- Oliver Andersson (APSU) def. Christos Kyrillou (EIU), 6-3, 6-3
- Anton Damberg (ASPU) def. Cameron Slabbert (EIU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
- Tom Bolton (APSU) def. Tyler Carlin (EIU) 6-1, 6-3
- Giovanni Becchis (APSU) def. Thomas Wallace (EIU), 6-2, 6-3
- Pau Riera (EIU) def. Thiago Nogueira (APSU), 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2*, 3, 5, 6
Coach’s Corner
Austin Peay State University head coach, Ross Brown
On the win… “I could not be any prouder of our guys. [Eastern Illinois] came out here thumping their chests and making all sort of noise and our guys just played tennis. Tennis is a fine motor skill sport, when you get too much emotion running the show out there, it gets difficult. We were fortunate to get through and win that doubles point, but I am so proud of the guys’ tenacity and will to compete out here. They did a great job. I am very pleased with how the team performed today.
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For news and updates ahead of the Govs’ match against Chattanooga, follow the men’s tennis team on Twitter (@GovsMTN), Instagram (@GovsTennis), and Facebook (Austin Peay Tennis).
Next Up For APSU Men’s Tennis
The Austin Peay State University men’s tennis team has won 13 of their last 14 matches against Eastern Illinois since 2009, and looks to carry momentum from Saturday’s victory into their Tuesday 2:00pm afternoon match against Chattanooga at the UTC Tennis Complex in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
