Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s tennis hosts Queens in its inaugural ASUN Conference Women’s Tennis Championship on Saturday, at the Governors Tennis Courts. The match begins at 3:00pm.
Austin Peay State University (15-6, 6-2) enters its first ASUN Championship as the tournament’s No. 4 seed, while fellow league newcomer Queens (5-17, 0-8 ASUN) is the No. 13 seed.
The APSU Govs combined for five ASUN postseason honors, including a trio of All-Conference selections.
After finishing with a 15-4 singles record and 14-5 mark in doubles play, Jana Leder became just the second Gov to receive three-straight First Team All-Conference selections to begin their collegiate career and is the fourth to receive three-career first-team selections at all. Leder also became the first student-athlete in program history named to the ASUN’s All-Academic Team.
Freshman Melody Hefti earned Second Team All-ASUN honors after finishing second on the team with 16 singles wins and a 14-5 record in doubles play while exclusively playing alongside Leder from the top position. Hefti is just the fourth freshman since 1995 to receive an All-Conference selection.
The St. Gallen, Switzerland native also became the first All-Freshman Team selection in program history after leading all ASUN freshmen and finishing second in the league with an .842 singles winning percentage.
Denise Torrealba rounded out the APSUGovs All-Conference selections with her Third Team selection. Torrealba finished her sophomore campaign with 10 singles and 13 doubles wins.
Austin Peay State University finished with a team singles winning percentage of .678 in the spring and was led by Sophia Baranov’s team-best 17-2 (.895) record. The Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Hefti also finished with a team-best 7-1 record against ASUN competition.
Freshman Asia Fontana finished with the fifth-most singles wins on the team with 12. She won seven of her last 10 matches of the season and garnered a 6-2 mark in ASUN play while anchoring the Govs’ singles lineup.
Saturday’s contest is the second all-time meeting between the Govs and Royals and the first since both teams’ ASUN opener, March 17th, which the APSU Govs won 6-1 in Charlotte North Carolina.
The APSU Govs have won at least one postseason match in the last four full seasons, advancing to the conference championship title match each time and clinching two NCAA Tournament berths.
Quick Serves
Austin Peay hosts Queens in its first ASUN Conference Championship match on Saturday at 3:00pm at the Governors Tennis Courts.
Led by first-year head coach Maria Sorbello Morrison, the APSU Govs finished tied for fourth in the ASUN standings with a 6-2 conference record and 15 total wins.
The APSU Govs 15 wins are the third-most in program history and the second-most by a first-year head coach (Malik Tabet, 18, 2010).
Austin Peay State University received had five ASUN postseason honors with Jana Leder was named First Team All-Conference and to the ASUN’s All-Academic Team, while Hefti received Second Team All-Conference and All-Freshman Team honors, and Torrealba was selected Third Team All-Conference.
Leder finished the regular season (fall included) with 46 total wins and became the second Gov (Lidia Yanes Garcia) to receive three-straight First Team All-Conference selections to begin their collegiate career.
Melody Hefti is the fourth freshman since 1995 to earn All-Conference honors with her Second Team selection. She also became the first player in program history to be named to an All-Freshman Team.
Leder and Hefti finished with a team-best 14 doubles wins while exclusively playing the No. 1 position. The duo also led the team with a 5-1 mark in ASUN play.
Freshman Sophia Baranov leads the Govs with 17 singles wins and is tied for a team-best 7-1 mark in ASUN play.
About the Queens Royals
2023 Record: 5-17 (0-8 ASUN)
The Royals’ 2023 Season: The Royals captured their first win as a Division I member in a 7-0 victory against Johnson C. Smith, on February 19th, and earned their first win against a Division I program the following week in a 4-3 victory against North Carolina Central. Queens enters Saturday’s contest on an eight-match losing streak and looking to earn their first win against an ASUN opponent.
2022 Record: 16-2 (11-1 SAC)
2022 Season Result: After winning the South Atlantic Conference Championship, the Royals advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships, where they fell in the first round of the Southeast Regionals to Newberry, 4-3.
Last Meeting: Austin Peay captured its first ASUN win in a 6-1 victory against Queens, on March 17th at the Leving Tennis Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. After claiming wins in No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, the Govs won No. 2-6 singles to earn the gentlemen’s sweep against the Royals.
Next Up For APSU Women’s Tennis
The winner of Saturday’s match between the Austin Peay State University women’s tennis team and the Queens Royals advances to a Sunday 1:00pm contest where they will play the winner of No. 5 Liberty and No. 12 Bellarmine, which is scheduled for Saturday at 11:00am, at the Governors Tennis Courts.
