CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University men's tennis team will travel to Starkville, Miss., to face No. 10 seed Mississippi State in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament, Friday, May 10, at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

After winning its first Ohio Valley Conference title since 1974, this will be Austin Peay's first NCAA Tournament appearance, and the first for head coach Ross Brown, who was named head coach in Summer 2012; he was the head coach at Evansville from 1991-2001.

“I couldn't be happier,” Brown said. “The guys are experienced and they know what to do. This will be a great experience for them.”

The Govs are 17-3 in 2013, including a 14-match win streak that encompassed most of the conference campaign. Austin Peay has not lost a match away from Clarksville since the spring season opener at 75th-ranked Samford, Jan. 26. Samford and Harvard also will be competing in Starkville.

Four Governors – Sean Bailey, Jasmin Ademovic, Dimitar Ristovski and Aleksas Tverijonas – were named All-OVC. It's the second year in a row for all four; the third for Ademovic; and the fourth for Bailey, who became Austin Peay's first four-time all-conference honoree.

Tenth-seeded Mississippi State went 16-9 on the season, bowing out to Kentucky in the second round of the SEC Tournament. Freshman Romain Bogaerts went 13-6 at No. 1 singles en route to SEC Freshman of the Year honors; he's currently ranked 10th in the ITA National Singles rankings. Junior Malte Stropp was 11-7 at No. 2 and was named second team All-SEC.

“There's something to having lowered expectations,” Brown said. “I tell the guys, every time they go out on the court, they have to play good tennis. We need a high number of first serves, getting the return into play – it's about doing the simple things. The focus is trying to play good tennis that gives us a chance to be successful.”

Check back at LetsGoPeay.com for a future announcement regarding start time for the Govs match at Mississippi State.