CLARKSVILLE – Austin Peay State University women's tennis team can secure its fifth Ohio Valley Conference Regular Season Championship and send its four seniors off with one final home victory in a 10 a.m., Friday match against Tennessee State at the Governors Tennis Courts.
After their home finale, the Governors (9-5, 5-0 OVC) head to the Bluegrass State for their final regular season contest as a member of the OVC in a 1 p.m., Saturday match against Murray State (10-9, 3-3 OVC) at the Bennie Purcell Courts in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Austin Peay will celebrate its four seniors – Danielle Morris, Honoka Nakanishi, Martina Paladini-Jennings and Aleks Topalovic – following its match against the Tigers, with festivities beginning at approximately 12:30 p.m.
In addition to securing another championship and winning their 10th-straight match of the season, a win against Tennessee State (0-13, 0-4 OVC) would mark the longest conference winning streak in program history.
The Govs' have won 10-straight OVC matches three times in program history, with the first being a run that stretched from through 1987-90 seasons, and the most recent being a streak from the 2010 to 2011 campaign.
In singles, the APSU is led by the reigning OVC Player of the Week in Denise Torrealba, who is 10-4 and holds an 8-1 mark from the No. 1 position. Paladini-Jennings also has won 10 matches this season from the No 3 and No. 4 positions.
Torrealba defeated the reigning OVC Player of the Year in Southeast Missouri's Romana Tarajova, April 16, while Paladini-Jennings came back to earn the match-clinching point against SEMO's Ksenia Shikanova.
Torrealba and Nakanishi highlight the Govs' doubles pairings with nine wins this season and boast a 7-0 record from the No. 1 position.
The Governors will receive an automatic doubles advantage and singles point due to Tennessee State only having five players. The wins will count as wins by default and be credited to the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles positions.
Austin Peay is 31-1 against Tennessee State since 1989 – it's most wins over any program in that span – and has won 24-straight matches against the Tigers since 1998.
The Racers are sixth in the OVC standings, but coming off a narrow, 4-3 victory against Southeast Missouri, Tuesday.
Saturday's match is the 69th meeting between the two teams. Despite the Racers holding a 47-21 lead in the all-time series, APSU has won the last four matches in the series dating back to 2018.
Up Next
After locking in the No. 1 seed in the OVC Women's Tennis Championship following MSU's victory against Southeast Missouri, the Governors will play the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup in the tournament, April 30 at the Wesselman Tennis Center in Evansville, Indiana.
Scouting the Tigers
2022 Record: 0-13, 0-4 OVC
2021 Record: Did not compete
2021 Season Result: Did not compete
Returners/Newcomers: N/A
All-Time Series (Since 1989): 31-1 APSU
Last Meeting: Austin Peay claimed its 13th win of the 2019 season against Tennessee State, March 23, 2019. After sweeping doubles, the Govs won in straight sets across all six singles positions to claim their first OVC win of the season.
Scouting the Racers
2022 Record: 10-9, 3-3 OVC
2021 Record: 8-10, 4-3 OVC
2021 Season Result: After entering the 2021OVC Women's Tennis Championship as the No. 3 seed, the Racers were swept by Austin Peay, 4-0, in tournament's semifinals.
Returners/Newcomers: 5/5.
All-Time Series (Since 1970): 47-21 MSU
Last Meeting: See "2021 Season Result"
Enter for a Chance to Win!
Austin Peay Athletics invites all students to attend Friday's tennis matches, where they can enter to win a Govs Prize Pack that includes a mystery gift card. Students should come to the marketing table at table outside the tennis courts closest to the softball field, where they can enter for the drawing which will be done Monday. To double your chances to win the prize pack and mystery gift card, students can make their way to Friday's home beach volleyball matches to enter a second drawing.
Follow the Govs on Social
For news and updates ahead of the Governors' matches against Tennessee State and the Racers, follow the women's tennis team on Twitter (@GovsWTN), Instagram (@GovsTennis) and Facebook (Austin Peay Tennis).
