CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – After splitting its first two ASUN Conference matches last week, Austin Peay State University women's tennis team hosts Lipscomb in a 1 p.m., Saturday match before facing a long-time rival in Eastern Kentucky at 2 p.m., Sunday, at the Governors Tennis Courts.
Austin Peay (10-4, 1-1 ASUN) defeated Queens in its ASUN Opener last Friday, but had a seven-match winning streak end following a 5-2 loss at North Florida, Sunday.
The Governors are 27-11 in doubles this spring and are highlighted by its top two pairings. Melody Heti and Jana Leder have exclusively played the No. 1 position this season and lead the team with 10 wins in their 14 matches, while Denise Torrealba and Sophia Baranov's 87.5 winning percentage from the No. 2 position leads the team.
As a team, the Govs are 56-26 win singles, with Sophia Baranov (12), Melody Hefti (11) and Jana Leder (10) all having reached double-digit wins. Baranov leads APSU with a 12-match winning streak – having played the No. 3-5 positions – while Hefti has won each of her last seven matches and is 10-2 from the No. 3 court. Leder is 6-3 from the No. 1 position.
Lipscomb (7-7, 2-0 ASUN) has won four-straight matches entering Saturday's contest and is coming off a 4-3 win against No. 73 Liberty, Saturday.
Kate Popova is tied for a team-best five wins while exclusively playing the No. 1 singles position, while Anja Trbenik and Emma Zakordniec have won a team-best three doubles matches.
Despite being 2-0 in ASUN play, the Bisons are 0-5 in doubles during the conference slate.
Saturday's match is the first between the Govs and Bisons since Feb. 2016. The Govs will look to end a four-match losing streak against LU which dates back to the 2013 season.
This season also is the first in the ASUN for Eastern Kentucky as the program was disbanded after defeating the Governors in the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Regular Season and Tournament titles. The Colonels' men's and women's tennis programs were reborn prior to the 2022-23 season, and the women's team is 5-13 during its first season back on the courts.
Austin Peay is 11-30 all-time against EKU and has dropped 11-straight matches to the Colonels since March 2011.
The Governors remain home for a pair of matches next week, beginning with a 10 a.m., Friday match against Stetson. APSU then hosts Florida Gulf Coast at 10 a.m., Sunday in its penultimate home match of the regular season.
