NIU Tennis:  Women
IPFW Tennis:  Men | Women

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- The Eastern Illinois men's and women's tennis squad will return to the court for three dual meets this weekend. The Panther women will face Northern Illinois on Friday (Feb. 4) before traveling with the men's squad to battle IPFW on Saturday (Feb. 5), with first serve set for 2 pm and 6 pm, respectively.

The match against NIU will technically be hosted by the Panther women, with the match being held at the indoor Danville Tennis Center. The dual at IPFW, meanwhile, will take place at the Pine Ridge Racquet and Fitness Club in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Both Panther squads won their most recent dual event last weekend, as each won identical 4-2 matches at future Ohio Valley Conference rival SIU-Edwardsville. The sweep helps the EIU women sit at 1-0 on the early season, while the men sport an even 1-1 mark.

“This should be a really fun weekend of matches,” said head coach John Blackburn. “We always have great matches against Northern Illinois and IPFW, so it will be a challenge to pack them into one weekend. Yet we look forward to rising to the occasion.”

Heading into the weekend, the Husky women's squad sits at 0-2, while the IPFW women own an impressive 4-1 mark on the season, as compared to just a 1-3 record for the Mastadon men.

The Panther men are led in singles play by newcomer Kevin Bauman who owns a 2-0 singles mark at the No. 6 spot.

Fellow freshman Charlie Dryden and junior Matyas Hilgert are an even 1-1 at No. 5 and No. 3 Singles, respectively.

“Like the women, our men's squad is also looking forward to getting back on the court this weekend,” said Blackburn. “We're excited to try and build on some of the things we did in our last match as well as at our practices this past week.”

For the women, senior Cara Huck, junior Amanda Dibbs, sophomore Merritt Whitley, and freshman Janelle Prisner each picked up impressive victories at SIUE to open the season.

On Thursday (Feb. 3), the OVC office announced the Preseason Predicted Order of Finish for both the men's and women's league standings. Both the Panther men and women have been selected to finish seventh place, as voted on by the conference head coaches.

“We're not really that interested in the results of a beauty contest poll,” Blackburn said. “Instead we are working hard to become the best team we can be by the time conference rolls around. That's our main goal.”

Last season, the EIU men finished 7th, out of eight squads, in the final league standings. The Panther women also finished in 7th place out of 10 squads last year, however this season, Tennessee Tech will no longer field a women's tennis unit.

Following this weekend's play, the Eastern men will take on Big Ten foe Purdue on Saturday, Feb. 12. Then on Friday, Feb. 18, the Panther women will travel to instate rival Southern Illinois, while the men will compete against Northern Illinois, with the match to also being played in Danville.

2011 OVC Men's Tennis Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league's head coaches) 

1. Eastern Kentucky (7 first-place votes) ... 49 pts
2. Tennessee Tech (1) ... 39
3. Jacksonville State ... 33
4. Austin Peay ... 32
5. Murray State ... 25
6. Morehead State ... 22
7. EASTERN ILLINOIS ... 13
8. Tennessee State ... 7

2011 OVC Women's Tennis Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league's head coaches) 

1. Austin Peay (7 first-place votes) ... 63 pts
2. Jacksonville State (1) ... 56
3. Eastern Kentucky ... 45
4. Murray State (1) ... 40
5. UT Martin ... 38
6. Morehead State ... 35
7. EASTERN ILLINOIS ... 23
8. Southeast Missouri ... 15
9. Tennessee State ... 9

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID