Tennis Squads Open Seasons On The Road

Both men's and women's tennis teams open their 2016 spring schedule this weekend with dual matches on the road.

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MEN at BALL STATE
Details	1 p.m. \| Sun., Jan. 17, 2016 \| Muncie, Ind.
EIU info	0-0 Overall \| Roster \| Schedule \| Statistics
BSU info	0-0 Overall \| Website

WOMEN at ILLINOIS
Details	5 p.m. \| Sat., Jan. 16, 2015 \| Urbana-Champaign, Ill.
EIU info	0-0 Overall \| Roster \| Schedule \| Statistics
UI info	0-0 Overall \| Website

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois men's and women's tennis teams open up their 2016 spring season this weekend with road dual meets. The EIU women begin their regular season Saturday [Jan. 16] at Illinois at 5 p.m. The men's tennis squad begins play the following day at Ball State Sunday [Jan. 17] at 1 p.m.

The Panther women finished last season with a 13-7 overall record while going 7-3 in conference play. The women's tennis squad ended their season falling to No. 1 seeded Murray State in the semi-finals of the OVC tournament. This will be head coach Emily Wang's first season coaching the EIU women's tennis team which returns all but one Panther from last season and adds three new freshmen.

The match against Illinois marks the first time in recent history that the EIU women will face the Fighting Illini during regular season play. Junior Kelly Iden fell to Jade Hilton of Illinois during her deep run in the ITA Regional Tournament hosted by Michigan this past October. Illinois faces EIU immediately following a dual match with IUPUI at noon Saturday [Jan. 16].

On the other hand EIU's men's tennis team opens up their 2016 spring schedule with a very familiar opponent in Ball State. The Panther men have played an early season match against Ball State every year since the 2010 season. In that time EIU has yet to win a dual against the Cardinals going 0-6.

Tennis players Robert Skolik and Ryan Henderson were the only two Panthers to pick up match wins against Ball State in last season's 5-2 loss to the Cardinals. The men's squad finished last season with a 4-15 record and went 3-6 in OVC match play. This will also mark the first season for new head men's tennis coach Sam Kercheval, who takes over a squad that loses two players from last season.

Following this weekend's dual matches both squads continue their season on the road as the men travel to Saint Louis Saturday [Jan. 23] while the women head to Indianapolis to take on Butler Friday [Jan. 22].

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Players Mentioned

Ryan Henderson: Senior

Robert Skolik: Senior

Kelly Iden: Junior

Players Mentioned

Ryan Henderson
: Senior

Robert Skolik
: Senior

Kelly Iden
: Junior