PADUCAH, Ky. - Only two teams remain at the 2010 Ohio Valley
Conference Women's Tennis Tournament.
Austin Peay women's team breezed past Murray State and will
now face Eastern Kentucky in a 2 p.m., Sunday, championship match. The Colonels
upset No. 1 seed Jacksonville State in the semifinals.
"I thought the kids handled themselves really well,"
first-year head coach Malik Tabet said. "They competed tough and stuck with the
game plan. They did a good job today."
It was business as usual for Austin Peay as they dispatched
the Racers much like they did in the regular season. Now the No. 2 seed Lady
Govs will have a chance to earn the school's fourth OVC women's tennis championship
and the first since 1989.
Murray State actually won the day's first match as they took
an 8-1 decision at No. 3 doubles. However, the top two doubles teams for Austin
Peay were as good as advertised - especially in the clutch.
OVC Player of the Year Vanja Tomic and second-team All-OVC
pick Mariana Pagan won at No. 1. The clinching doubles point came when OVC
Freshman of the Year Carolin Weikard and senior Yuki Nakamura had to break
serve in order to force the match long before winning 9-7, at No. 2.
Pagan made quick work of Murray State's Ashley Canty (6-4,
6-1) at No. 3 singles - a sort of revenge considering Canty beat Pagan in
straight sets in the regular season.
Despite leading the entire match, Tomic managed to overcome
a tense on-court situation to win in straight sets at No. 1 singles. Weikard,
meanwhile, got off to a slow start, but finished strong to win (6-3, 6-2) at
No. 2 singles.
"When you know there isn't much a chance to win, you do what
you have to do," Tabet said. "Vanja has to do a better job of keeping her cool
and not falling into the trap. Today she was strong enough to take care of
business."
Now the Lady Govs will have to face the regular-season and
defending tournament champion in Eastern Kentucky. A team the Lady Govs handled
well in the regular-season match up, winning 5-2.
"This is the conference tournament, so anything can happen,"
Tabet said. "I feel good about our matchup tomorrow. The players are focused -
they competed really well today. They're peaking at the right time in all
aspects; mentally, technically and physically."