By: Casey Crigger, Austin Peay Athletics Communications Assistant (Exclusive for LetsGoPeay.com)
As you've likely heard, we don't have any live-action contests to cover at LetsGoPeay.com right now. What we do have is free time; oodles and oodles of free time. Enough free time to swap oodles of emails with various people who would know to create a snapshot of the best athletes in Austin Peay women's tennis history. We start the countdown with a three-time First-Team All-OVC selection, who has a conference title to boot.
From the moment that Claudia Yanes Garcia arrived at Austin Peay, she became one of the Ohio Valley Conference's fiercest competitors. Nothing better shows Yanes Garcia's competitiveness than the spring of her junior season, when she was hurt in the first match of the year. Yanes Garcia returned to the lineup for conference play, where she was able to help pick up a pair of doubles wins, while playing only with her non-dominant left hand.
In her freshman season, the Los Realejos, Spain, native immediately assumed the No. 2 position in the Governors lineup, where she would go on to post a 13-2 singles record. In doubles action, Yanes Garcia was partnered with Brittney Covington, the duo would go on to post a team-best five victories. In OVC action, Yanes Garcia posted an 8-1 record in singles play, as she picked up her first First-Team All-OVC selection.
In 2017, Yanes Garcia picked up her second-consecutive First-Team All-OVC honors by going 7-1 in league play. Once again playing in the No. 2 position, Yanes Garcia went 12-2 in singles play during her sophomore year, including a 9-1 run to close out the season.
After a promising fall which saw Yanes Garcia defeat her twin-sister Lidia Yanes Garcia to win the APSU Fall Invitational singles title, she was injured in the first match of the spring season. After returning to play the majority of the conference season left-handed, a healthy Yanes Garcia won three-of-four singles matches to close out the regular-season. In the conference tournament, Yanes Garcia won a pair of doubles matches to help the Governors reach the OVC title match, but they fell to Eastern Kentucky, 4-3.
In her final season, Yanes Garcia posted a 17-3 record in singles play, including a 14-match winning streak, which is the fourth longest in program history. In OVC action, Yanes Garcia made the move to the No. 1 single position, where she posted a 6-2 record and picked up her career's third First-Team All-OVC selection. In doubles play, Yanes Garcia was paired with her twin sister, the duo went 8-0 in conference matches and posted a 12-match winning streak – the second-longest in program history.
After helping lead the Governors to a perfect 20-0 record and an OVC Regular-Season Championship in 2019, Yanes Garcia and the Governors rolled through the OVC Tournament. After a straight-sets win against Southeast Missouri in the semifinals, Yanes Garcia and her twin sister picked up a doubles win in the title match to help the Govs secure the OVC Tournament Championship and the greatest season in program history.