CLARKSVILLE – Austin Peay State University men's tennis team earned its first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the season, defeating Eastern Illinois in a 6-1 match, Saturday, at the Governors Tennis Courts.
The Governors (5-6, 1-1 OVC) claimed the early advantage in doubles, with their top pairing of Frederic Schlossmann and Anton Damberg defeating Eastern Illinois' Christos Kyrillou and Thomas Wallace, 6-4. Schlossmann and Damberg improve to 5-2 on the season in doubles play and have won three of their last four matches.
Eastern Illinois (3-18, 0-2 OVC) brought it back to even after defeating the Govs' freshman duo of Giovanni Becchis and Tom Bolton, 6-4.
Senior Oliver Andersson and freshman Hogan Stoker claimed the doubles point in their fourth win together of the spring. The dup won defeated EIIU's Tyler Carlin and Max Pilipovic-Kljajic, 7-3, in the tiebreaker.
Bolton's singles match was the first to go final, as the Wellington, New Zealand native extended the Govs' lead with a straight-set victory against Carlin.
Schlossmann won his second-straight match from the No. 1 position, defeating Brandon, 6-3, 6-0, to match Damberg for team-best five wins in singles play.
Leading 3-0, Andersson secured the Govs' first OVC win of the season, winning a pair of 6-3 sets from the No. 2 singles court.
After dropping his first set, 6-2 from the No. 3 position, Damberg rallied to defeat Cameron Slabbert 6-2, 6-3, in the proceeding sets to pick up the Govs' fifth point of the afternoon.
With the win already well in hand, Becchis won in a pair of convincing sets from the No. 5 position, 6-2, 6-3, for his third win of the spring.
Eastern Illinois claimed their only point of the afternoon after Thiago Nogueira dropped his match from the No. 6 line.
Austin Peay has won 13 of their last 14 matches against Eastern Illinois since 2009, and looks to carry momentum from Saturday's victory into their 2 p.m. match Tuesday afternoon against Chattanooga at the UTC Tennis Complex in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Results vs. Eastern Illinois
Doubles
- Frederic Schlossmann / Anton Damberg (APSU) def. Christos Kyrillou / Thomas Wallace (EIU), 6-4
- Cameron Slabbert / Leighton Brandon (EIU) def. Tom Bolton / Giovanni Becchis (APSU), 6-4)
- Oliver Andersson / Hogan Stoker (ASPU) def. Tyler Carlin / Max Pilipovic-Kljajic (EIU), 7-6 (7-3)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
Singles
- Frederic Schlossmann (APSU) Leighton Brandon (EIU), 6-3, 6-0
- Oliver Andersson (APSU) def. Christos Kyrillou (EIU), 6-3, 6-3
- Anton Damberg (ASPU) def. Cameron Slabbert (EIU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
- Tom Bolton (APSU) def. Tyler Carlin (EIU) 6-1, 6-3
- Giovanni Becchis (APSU) def. Thomas Wallace (EIU), 6-2, 6-3
- Pau Riera (EIU) def. Thiago Nogueira (APSU), 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2*, 3, 5, 6
Coach's Corner
Austin Peay head coach, Ross Brown
On the win… "I could not be any prouder of our guys. [Eastern Illinois] came out here thumping their chests and making all sort of noise and our guys just played tennis. Tennis is a fine motor skill sport, when you get too much emotion running the show out there, it gets difficult. We were fortunate to get through and win that doubles point, but I am so proud of the guys' tenacity and will to compete out here. They did a great job. I am very pleased with how the team preformed today.
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For news and updates ahead of the Govs' match against Chattanooga, follow the men's tennis team on Twitter (@GovsMTN), Instagram (@GovsTennis) and Facebook (Austin Peay Tennis).
