Austin Peay State University Athletics

Seniors Brooke Moore and Jenna Panning, of the Austin Peay State University beach volleyball team, have been named this week’s Austin Peay Athletes of the Week.

The duo helped Austin Peay win the inaugural Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championships, earning Tournament MVP pairing honors after going 3-0 and twice clinching the match point for the Governors. The duo set the tone for the tournament in the second match, forcing a third set and rallying back from a 13-7 deficit in the third set by winning eight straight points to claim the set and the match.

Moore and Panning sent the Govs on to the championship match by dispatching host UT Martin, claiming the clinching win with a 21-10, 21-16 victory in the semifinal.

Other notable performances by Austin Peay athletes included:

• Sophomore sprinter Kenisha Phillips, of the track and field team, was outstanding again at the Kentucky Open, placing fifth overall and second among collegiate competitors in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best 53.38 mark, the third-fastest outdoor mark in program history and a time which extends her lead in the event among league brethren to nearly two seconds and moved her into 22nd in the region. In Friday evening’s 200-meter, Phillips overcame a tough start out of the blocks to clock a 23.76, one-hundredth of a second off her own school record in the event.
• Senior utility player Kelsey Gross, of the softball team, pitched a shutout inning of relief in the midweek against Middle Tennessee and then tossed a complete game to pick up a 2-1 win against UT Martin, striking out three and scattering seven hits.
• Sophomore pole vaulter Karlijn Schouten, of the track and field, took a run at the Austin Peay outdoor pole vault record over the weekend, squaring off in heads-up fashion against Kentucky’s Siobhan Szerencsits in the finals of the event at the Kentucky Open. Schouten’s personal-best 4.12 meter mark is the second-highest outdoor mark in program history, extending her lead in the event at the league level and moving her into 21^st overall in the NCAA East Region.