Clarksville, TN – With Ohio Valley Conference Tournament seeding on the line, Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s tennis is set to wrap up the regular season when it hosts Murray State for a noon, Friday match at the Governors Tennis Courts.
Austin Peay (9-3, 4-2) and Murray State (8-8, 4-2) enter the final weekend of the regular season tied for second place in the OVC standings.
The winner of Friday’s match between the Govs and Racers will be the higher seed in the OVC Women’s Tennis Championship, April 24th and 25th, at the Wesselman Tennis Center in Evansville, Indiana.
However, the Governors also enter the weekend with a chance to clinch a share of the OVC regular-season title. If Austin Peay State University wins its final match against Murray State, and league-leading Southeast Missouri (12-4, 5-0) loses its final two matches against SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois – the Govs and Redhawks would share the regular-season championship, but Southeast Missouri would be the higher seeded team in the OVC Tournament.
The Govs enter the final match of the regular season led by Danielle Morris, the reigning OVC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week. Morris received her first conference player of the week award after winning three times in singles last week to push her winning streak to four straight matches. The Brisbane, Australia, native has also won seven matches this season – good for third-best on the team – while playing exclusively No. 2 singles.
In doubles play, Morris partners with Fabienne Schmidt, and the duo leads the Governors with 10 wins in No. 1 doubles this season. Schmidt has also won eight matches while playing exclusively No. 1 singles this season.
Jana Leder has also caught fire as of late, the Rhemchingen, Germany, native has won nine-straight matches and leads the Govs with ten singles wins this season. Leder has also won six times while playing No. 2 doubles, with five of her wins coming with Aleks Topalvoic and one coming while playing with Martina Paladini-Jennings.
Topalovic and Paladini-Jennings have split time in the No. 4 and No. 5 positions for Austin Peay this season. Topalovic has won seven matches with five of her wins coming on the No. 5 line, and Paladini-Jennings has won five matches with three of her wins coming on the No. 4 line.
In No. 3 doubles, the pairing of Ana Albertson and Honoka Nakanishi have won five matches this season. The duo has also manned the No. 6 singles spot for the Governors, where Albertson has picked up one win and Nakanishi has won five times this season.
The Opposition
Murray State (8-8, 4-2)
The Racers enter the final match of the regular season after falling to Eastern Illinois, 4-3, last time out. Murray State’s only other OVC loss came when they fell to league-leading Southeast Missouri, 4-3.
In singles play, the Racers are led in wins by Sarah Bureau and Gabrielle Geolier. Bureau has won a team-best 12 matches for Murray State while playing No. 3 and No. 4 singles, while Geolier has won ten times on the No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 lines. Two-time OVC Player of the Week Sara Loncarevic has also won eight matches for Murray State this season, with all of her wins coming in No. 1 and No. 2 singles.
In doubles action, the duo of Marit Kreugal and Stasya Sharapova lead the Racers with five wins while playing No. 2 doubles this season. Sharapova has also partnered with Natalie Slezakova to post a perfect 2-0 mark in No. 1 doubles, their two wins on the No. 1 line are the most of any Murray State paring in that position this season.
Next Up For Austin Peay State University Women’s Tennis
The Austin Peay University women’s tennis team will travel to the OVC Women’s Tennis Championship at the Wesselman Tennis Courts in Evansville, Indiana. The semifinal matches will be played on Saturday, April 24th, and the championship match will be played on Sunday, April 25. The Govs are still in play for all four seeds in the tournament entering the final weekend of the regular season.
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).
