CLARKSVILLE – Looking to defend its 2019 Ohio Valley Conference title, Austin Peay State University women's tennis is set for a 6:30 p.m., Saturday semifinal match against rival Murray State in the OVC Women's Tennis Championship at the Evansville Tennis Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Saturday's match was originally scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at the Wesselman Tennis Center, but when the match was moved indoors due to the threat of inclement weather, the time was changed as well. 

The No. 2 seeded Governors are making their third-straight trip to the OVC Women's Tennis Tournament and will finally have a chance to defend their 2019 championship, since no OVC Tournament was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019 championship marked the program's first tournament title since 2010 and was the first women's tournament championship for head coach Ross Brown at Austin Peay.

This season the Governors have been led by OVC Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-OVC selection Jana Leder. Leder has won a team-best 11 matches while playing exclusively No. 3 singles. In doubles play, Leder has manned the No. 2 position for the Govs, where she has won six times with Aleks Topalovic and once with Martina Paladini-Jennings.

Austin Peay's No. 1 doubles duo is made up of a pair of Second-Team All-OVC honorees in Fabienne Schmidt and Danielle Morris. The duo has posted a team-best 11-1 mark in No. 1 doubles and won their first ten matches of the season before falling at Belmont in the regular season's penultimate match. In singles action, Schmidt and Morris have both won eight matches this season while playing No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively.

Topalovic and Paladini-Jennings have split time in the No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions for the Governors this season. Topalovic has won five times on the No. 5 line and has picked up a trio of wins in No. 4 singles, while Paladini-Jennings has won three matches in each position.

Finally, Ana Albertson and Honoka Nakanishi have combined to win five matches as Austin Peay's No. 3 doubles pairing this season. The duo has also split time in singles play this season, with Nakanishi winning six times and Albertson winning once on the No. 6 line.

The Governors enter the OVC Tournament on a five-match winning streak after dropping their first two OVC matches to Jacksonville State and Southeast Missouri.

The Opposition

Murray State (8-9,4-3)

After starting conference play 4-1, Murray State dropped their last two OVC matches of the season, falling to Eastern Illinois, 4-3, and the Governors, 6-1. The No. 3 seeded Racers had a pair of All-OVC selections, with Sara Loncarevic receiving first-team honors and Sarah Bureau receiving second-team honors.

In the regular season's final match between Austin Peay and Murray State, the Governors handily won the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches, and held a 5-1 lead in the No. 3 doubles match that was left unfinished. In singles play, the Racers were able to pick up a point in the No. 1 match, but the Govs won the other five contests to secure a 6-1 victory and the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament.

Up Next

The winner of Saturday's semifinal match between the Govs and Racers will play at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, against the winner of Southeast Missouri and Jacksonville State in the championship match of the OVC Tennis Tournament.

In the time of COVID-19, there is always a chance that a match will be postponed or not come to fruition. For news, scheduling changes, and scores, be sure to check back at LetsGoPeay.com or follow the Governors women's tennis Twitter account (@AustinPeayWTN).