MUR & APSU Match Programs (PDF)

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois men's and women's tennis are set to host a pair of Ohio Valley Conference dual meets versus Murray State and Austin Peay on Saturday (March 23) and Sunday (March 24), respectively.

With projected inclement weather forecast for the Charleston area this weekend, all action will be moved to the Wabash Valley Tennis Club in nearby Terre Haute, Ind.

The EIU men and women enter at 4-3/0-0 and 6-2/1-0, respectively.  The Murray State men and women own respective 0-11/0-2 and 4-7/1-1 marks, while prior to facing SIUE, the two Austin Peay squads are 8-2/2-0 and 4-8/1-1.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE (all times central & subject to change)
Wabash Valley Tennis Club  ... 311 Honey Creek Dr., Terre Haute, IN 47802

Saturday, March 23
  9 a.m. ... Women's warmup
 10 a.m. ... EIU Women hosts Murray State
 12:30 p.m. ... Men's warmup
 1 p.m. ... EIU Men hosts Murray State

Sunday, March 24
  9 a.m. ... Women's warmup
 10 a.m. ... EIU Women hosts Austin Peay
 12:30 p.m. ... Men's warmup
 1 p.m. ... EIU Men hosts Austin Peay

All matches will begin with singles play.  The contest will stop once one team reaches four points, with doubles action utilized only in case of a three-all tie in singles action.

QUICK LOOK AT THE PANTHERS
The Panther men enter the weekend at 4-3 overall, recently snapping a two-match losing streak with a convincing 5-2 road win at Chicago State.

A trio of Panthers -- Warren Race, Robert Skolik and Ryan Henderson -- all sport a team-high 4-3 singles record at their respective No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 spot in the lineup.  Race currently rides a two-match win streak.

The duo of Kevin Bauman and Skolik are 3-2 at No. 2 doubles, while the team of Michael Sperry and Race are an even 3-3 at the top of the lineup.

The EIU women, meanwhile, are off to one of their best spring starts in school history with a 6-2 overall record and have won four consecutive matches, including a recent 7-0 sweep at arch-rival Southeast Missouri.

Freshman Ali Foster sports the top individual mark of 6-1, which includes a 5-1 record at No. 4 singles and a current four-match win streak.  She's also 6-1 in doubles action when teamed with senior Kristen Laird.

Sophomore Sephora Boulbahaiem sports a 6-2 singles mark, going 5-1 at No. 2, while senior Merritt Whitley and junior Janelle Prisner both sit at 5-2 on the year in both singles and duos when the two have teamed up.

PANTHERS RANK IN TOP 5 IN OVC
For the EIU women, Whitley and Foster tie for first in the OVC for respective 4-1 and 5-1 records at No. 3 and No. 4 singles.  Foster paces all Panthers with her 6-1 singles tally and sits in second place in the overall individual conference win/loss tally.

Prisner and Boulbahaiem currently own second place league ranks at No. 1 and No. 2 singles off their respective 5-2 and 5-1 records.

The duos of Prisner/Whitley and Foster/Kristen Laird also rank first in their respective No. 1 and No. 3 OVC double marks of 4-2 and 5-1.

For the guys, Race, Skolik and freshman Ryan Henderson own Top 5 rankings at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Next weekend (March 29-30), both Panther units will continue OVC road action as EIU travels to Belmont and Tennessee State.

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