Men's Tennis | April 12, 2023

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Austin Peay State University men's tennis team takes on Kennesaw State in its inaugural ASUN Conference Men's Tennis Championship at 11 a.m. (CT), Thursday, at the Eddie Weber Tennis Complex in Louisville, Kentucky.

Austin Peay (4-14, 1-7 ASUN) finished 12th in the ASUN, while Kennesaw State (12-7, 5-3 ASUN) enters the postseason as the No. 5 seed. The winner of Thursday's match will advance to the ASUN Quarterfinals against fourth-seeded Bellarmine.

The Governors' singles lineup is led by sophomore Tom Bolton, who earned nine singles wins during the regular season, including seven from the No. 3 position. Bolton's doubles teammate and fellow sophomore Giovanni Becchis is second on the team with seven wins while playing the majority of the season on the No. 2 court and is followed by freshman Sota Minami's five singles wins from the No. 1 court.

Bolton and Becchis lead all APSU pairings with five doubles wins this season and are 4-8 from the No. 1 court.

The Govs look for their first postseason win as a member of the ASUN Conference. APSU's last championship win came in a 4-0 victory against Tennessee Tech in the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Tennis Championship.

Quick Serves

• Austin Peay enters the ASUN Championships as the No. 12 seed in its first year in the league.
• Tom Bolton leads Austin Peay with a 9-9 singles record.
• Bolton and Giovanni Becchis lead all APSU doubles pairings with five wins.
• Sota Minami leads APSU's four freshmen with six singles wins. He also is tied for a team-best five doubles wins.
• Director of Tennis and head men's tennis coach Ross Brown is in his 11th season at the helm of the men's tennis program. Brown, who also coached the women's tennis program prior to this season, garners a 194-222 career record, with 86 wins coming from the men's tennis program.
• Thursday's match is the sixth all-time meeting between the Govs and Owls. Kennesaw State has won the last three meetings dating back to 2015 and leads the series, 4-1

Scouting the Owls

2023 Record: 12-7 (5-3 ASUN)

The Owls 2023 Season: The Owls won six of their first seven matches to open their spring season, but dropped four of their next five following the strong start. After a back-and-forth start to ASUN play, the Owls finished the regular season on a two-match winning streak and enter the postseason as the No. 5 seed.

2022 Record: 15-6 (7-1 ASUN)

2022 Season Result: Kennesaw State fell to Liberty, 4-0, in the 2022 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship semifinal, ending its historic season that saw the program post its highest win total (15) and conference-win total (7).

Last Meeting: Austin Peay dropped a 4-0 decision to Kennesaw State, March 2, 2019 in Kennesaw, Georgia. After claiming the doubles point, the Owls went on to earn straight-set victories from the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 positions to claim the win. The loss dropped APSU to 3-7 on the season.

Follow the Govs on Social

For news and updates throughout the Governors' inaugural ASUN Conference postseason, follow the men's tennis team on Twitter (@GovsMTN), Instagram (@GovsTennis) and Facebook (Austin Peay Tennis).