CLARKSVILLE – For the first time this season, Austin Peay State University women’s tennis will hit the road for a 1 p.m., Friday, match against Central Arkansas and a 1 p.m., Saturday, match against Southern Arkansas, with both matches being played at Burns Park in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Austin Peay (0-1) dropped a hard-fought match in their season opener against Chattanooga, 4-3, at the Governors Tennis Center. The Govs are now set to embark on a five-match road trip that will not see them play a match in Clarksville until noon, Feb. 11, match against Cumberland.
In the season opener against Chattanooga, the Govs deployed a trio of new doubles pairings against the Mocs. Sophomore Danielle Morris and freshman Jana Leder were paired together in the No. 1 position, with Leder making her Austin Peay debut. On the No. 2 line, junior Fabienne Schmidt and sophomore-transfer Aleks Topalovic played their first match together as Governors.
The Governors lone doubles win against Chattanooga came from the No. 3 pairing of freshman Sarah Heckel and sophomore-transfer Martina Paladini-Jennings, as the duo dispatched the No. 3 pairing from Chattanooga, 6-4.
In singles action, the Governors placed the Ohio Valley Conference’s No. 2 ranked preseason player, Schmidt, in the No. 1 position. Schmidt picked up a win, knocking off Chatanooga’s No. 1, 7-6(5), 7-5. Morris, who was the OVC’s No.6 ranked player in the preseason, played as the No. 2 for the Govs in the season opener, where she picked up a 6-2, 6-2 win.
The Governors final singles win in the match against Chattanooga came from Leder, who was making her Governor debut. Leder played as the No. 3 for the Governors, where she knocked off Chattanooga’s Caroline Gibbons, 6-2, 6-4.
Paladini-Jennings and Topalovic played as the Governors No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, in the Governors season-opening match against Chattanooga. Senior Ana Albertson rounded out the Govs’ lineup, playing on the No. 6 lineup in the first match of her senior season.
The Opposition
Central Arkansas (1-3)
Last Meeting: Austin Peay won 6-1 at the Governors Tennis Center, Feb. 9, 2019.
Central Arkansas kicked off their season with a win over Oral Roberts, 5-2. After the season-opening win, the Sugar Bears have dropped three straight matches on the road.
Southern Arkansas (0-0)
Last Meeting: This is the Governors’ first-ever meeting with the Muleriders.
The Southern Arkansas Muleriders will kick off their spring season when they take on the Govs.
Up Next
Austin Peay will continue its five-match road trip with a quick jaunt to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for a 1 p.m., Feb. 1, match against Western Kentucky.