| #6-EIU MEN at OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT |
| Details | Thu.-Sat., April 17-19, 2014 | Heflin Tennis Center | Paducah, Ky. | Tourney Info |
| First Round ... #6-EIU vs. #3-APSU | Thu., Apr. 17 | 10 a.m.
Semifinal ... #2-BEL vs. EIU/APSU Winner | Fri., Apr. 18 | 10 a.m.
Championship ... Opponents TBD | Sat., Apr. 19 | 10 a.m. |
| EIU info | 7-9 (4-5 OVC) ... News | Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
| #6-EIU WOMEN at OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT |
| Details | Thu.-Sat., April 17-19, 2014 | Heflin Tennis Center | Paducah, Ky. | Tourney Info |
| First Round ... #6-EIU vs. #3-MOR | Thu., Apr. 17 | 2 p.m.
Semifinal ... #2-EKU vs. EIU/MOR Winner | Fri., Apr. 18 | 2 p.m.
Championship ... Opponents TBD | Sat., Apr. 19 | 2 p.m. |
| EIU info | 11-5 (5-5 OVC) ... News | Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois men's and women's tennis are set to participate in the annual Ohio Valley Conference Tournament this coming weekend, as both Panther units have earned the No. 6 Seed in the three-day event. All action will take place at the Heflin Tennis Center just outside Paducah, Ky.
The Panther men enter with a 7-9 overall record after going 4-5 in league action, while the Eastern women, meanwhile, own an 11-5 mark and even 5-5 OVC tally.
The guys will face No. 3-Austin Peay first thing on Thursday (April 17) at 10 a.m., while the ladies will take on No. 3-Morehead State later that afternoon at 2 p.m. Winners of those two men's and women's matches will take on respective No. 2-Seeds Belmont and Eastern Kentucky.
This weekend will mark the 66th OVC men's event and the 38th time the women have hosted the league tourney. Winners of each league title will receive the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
QUICK SET ON THE PANTHERS
The EIU men will be making their first appearance at the end-of-season event since the 2009 campaign when the Panthers also nabbed the No. 6 Seed. The Eastern women, meanwhile, will be returning for the third consecutive year, as the Panthers nabbed a third place finish at last season's tourney.
During the regular-season, both Panther units lost to their respective upcoming tourney opponent, as the EIU men fell, 5-2, on the road to to the APSU Govs back on March 29, while the Panther women lost a close 4-3 road match to the MOR Eagles in the league-opener on March 15.
A LOOK AT THE WEEKEND COMPETITION
The No. 3-Austin Peay men enter the tourney at 12-6 overall and 7-2 in league action. As last year's defending champion, the Governors finished this year's OVC slate with five consecutive wins, including giving the weekend's No. 1 Seed Jacksonville State their lone loss of the conference season.
The Eagles of Morehead State, meanwhile, currently own a 11-10 record, as they earned the No. 3 rank by going 8-2 in OVC action. They finished the regular-season with their own three-match win streak.
THE PANTHER MEN
Leading the guys squad with a 10-5 overall and 6-2 OVC tally is senior Kevin Bauman. Playing at either the No. 5 or No. 6 spot, nine of his singles wins have come in straight sets as he has won six of his nine overall. In doubles, he owns a 7-8 record (4-5 in OVC) when teamed with either Robert Skolik or Grant Thompson.
Skolik follows with his own 9-5 singles mark, playing mostly at the No. 4 spot in the lineup. He's won seven of his last ten matchups and went 5-3 in OVC action during his sophomore campaign. He also owns a 6-8 doubles mark.
Sophomore Ryan Henderson, who has seen action at either No. 2 or No. 3 singles, sits at 6-9 on the year and 3-5 in OVC. Meanwhile, at No. 2 doubles, he and classmate Rui Silva sport a team-best 10-4 record .
Silva, meanwhile, is riding a two-match win streak in singles as he earned a nice 4-3 OVC tally, playing mostly at the No. 5 spot.
Team-wise, the Panthers finished with respective 11-5 and 10-6 single records at No. 4 and No. 6 singles this season, while going 11-4 and 10-4 overall at No. 3 and No. 2 duos, respectively.
THE PANTHER WOMEN
The Eastern women began the season with an undefeated 6-0 record, earning team rankings in the ITA on three seperate weeks. Since then, the 11-5 Panthers would finish the league slate with an even 5-5 mark.
A pair of Panthers currently have 11 wins under their belt in singles, led by sophomore Ali Foster's 11-5 total record, all played at the No. 4 spot in the EIU lineup. She's also gone 9-4 at No. 2 doubles when teamed with classmate Hannah Kimbrough.
Kelly Iden follows at 11-5 on the year, as the newcomer has now won six of her last ten matchups. She earned a perfect 6-0 mark at No. 3 and went 5-5 in No. 2 singles. In doubles, she earned a 10-5 record, playing mostly at No. 3 duos alongside fellow freshman Kamile Stadalninkaite.
Senior Janelle Prisner has continued her fine Panther career with a 10-6 record at the top of the lineup. In fact, she's played all but one singles bout at the No. 1 position while in a Panther uniform. She finished with an even 5-5 league record, but also owns an impressive 12-2 No. 1 doubles tally when joined by junior Sephora Boulbahaiem.
The All-OVC honoree is also currently riding a four-match win streak heading into the tournament.
Boulbahaiem, meanwhile, sits at 9-7 in singles, which includes a 6-4 record at the No. 2 spot.
QUOTING DIRECTOR OF TENNIS/WOMEN'S HEAD COACH JOHNS BLACKBURN
"We are excited about the opportunity to compete for a conference championship this coming weekend. I think this team's best tennis could still be ahead of us, as we get another chance to hopefully bring that out this weekend against a very good OVC field with a lot of talented players.
I think in all of our key wins this season, our doubles have been the biggest spark for us. We have had all three teams step up and lead the charge in duos at different times during the season, so it's tough to highlight one team above the other two, as it has been a total group effort for the doubles points this year. However, our most improved team this year would certainly be the freshmen duo of Kamile Stadalninkaite and Kelly Iden.
In singles we have also had a lot of great contributions this year. I think Hannah Kimbrough is our most improved singles player from last year. You also can't ignore Ali Foster and Kelly Iden as each continues to lead the team in wins this spring. Finally, I think our two captains -- Janelle Prisner and Sephora Boulbahaiem -- have really stepped up their play as of late, going a combined 7-1 in singles over the last four conference matches."
QUOTING ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR/MEN'S HEAD COACH ERIC STARK
"I think this has been a very successful year so far and our team has really come together, playing with no fear and with a lot of heart. So I expect nothing less during our time in the OVC Tournament.
Everyone on this team has made contributions this year. Kevin Bauman has really taken that step forward that I was looking for this year. As a senior, he has become the vocal leader and heart of the team. I think Robert Skolik has also made great strides with his mental game and continued patience on the court.
Grant Thompson has improved leaps and bounds from day one. I always knew that Ryan Henderson had great ability, but have been waiting for him to take that step forward and with each day he is getting close to that next level. I can think of no better time than at the OVC Tournament. Moritz Kandt is the one of the hardest working kids I have ever seen, as he is always wanting to work and I love players like that. Rui Silva has shown tremendous improvement from last year till now and has come up with some of the biggest wins this year in big moments.
Vova Zverkovsky has really done a great job this year. He has become a senior leader and everyone can see how hungry he is and it rubs off on everyone. David Constantinescu has really come along as well as his recognition has really developed and I don't believe there's a better net closer on the team than him. Jacob Wendell can also come out and leave it all out on the court every day. Nobody gives more than him point in point out.
We take pride in our doubles and I think all of the doubles teams have done a superb job. We are looking forward to making some noise this week."
LAST SEASON AT OVC MEET
Last year, Austin Peay won the men's team title, while Eastern Kentucky won it all on the women's side.
The Panther women, who entered last spring's event as the No. 4 Seed, downed Austin Peay to advance to the semifinal as the Eastern squad fell to eventual champion EKU.
... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID
