Women's Tennis Returns To Darling Courts

EIU women's tennis continues their OVC schedule with home duals against Belmont and Tennessee State this weekend.

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WOMEN vs. BELMONT
Details	10 a.m. \| Fri., Apr. 1, 2016 \| Charleston, Ill.
EIU info	9-5 Overall, 3-1 OVC \| Roster \| Schedule \| Statistics
BU info	2-10 Overall, 0-4 OVC \| Website

WOMEN vs. TENNESSEE STATE
Details	10 a.m. \| Sat., Apr. 2, 2016 \| Charleston, Ill.
EIU info	9-5 Overall, 3-1 OVC \| Roster \| Schedule \| Statistics
TSU info	8-5 Overall, 1-3 OVC \| Website

CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois women's tennis team returns to Charleston to open a four-match home stand with duals against Belmont and Tennessee State this Friday and Saturday. The Panthers open their weekend with a 10 am match against Belmont this Friday followed by another 10 am contest the following Saturday morning against TSU.

The EIU women enter this weekend's matches 9-5 overall and 3-1 in the OVC currently tied for second in the conference with SIU Edwardsville, UT Martin, and Jacksonville State. The Panthers first face the Belmont Bruins who are 2-10 so far this season and winless in the conference with a 0-4 record. The Bruins are currently riding an eight-game losing streak, dropping their most recent match to Morehead State 5-2.

EIU has won the last three matches in a row against Belmont as the Panthers hold a 4-2 all-time series edge over the Bruins. Grace Summers, Kelly Iden, and Ali Foster all earned straight set victories in EIU's 4-0 sweep of Belmont last season. Both Foster and Summers have winning records so far this season with Foster going 8-5 in singles play and Summers standing at 12-1 having won 12 consecutive singles matches heading into this weekend's duals. Summers is the second most-winningest Panther at the No. 3 position for EIU in the Ohio Valley Conference era with an 18-4 record so far in her two years at EIU.

Following Friday's match against Belmont EIU takes on Tennessee State Saturday morning. TSU is currently 8-5 and 1-3 in the OVC with a match against SIU Edwardsville Friday before facing the Panthers. The Tigers lone OVC win of the season was a 5-1 decision over Belmont.

The Panther women's tennis team has only lost one match in its history to Tennessee State during the 2000 season. EIU has won the last 13 duals against the Tigers including last season's 5-0 sweep, in which the Panthers did not drop a single set point to TSU. Foster, Summers, and Hannah Kimbrough all recorded 6-0, 6-0 victories in last season's match against Tennessee State.

On the doubles side of the court, each Panther team holds a winning record so far this season with the duo of Summers and Kimbrough leading the way with a 10-3 record having won their last five doubles matches.

Following the duals against Belmont and Tennessee State, the women's team will have their final home matches of the season facing SIUE Wednesday [Apr. 6] at 1 pm before holding their senior day match against Jacksonville State Friday [Apr. 8] at 2 pm.

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Players Mentioned

Ali Foster: Senior

Kelly Iden: Junior

Hannah Kimbrough: Senior

Grace Summers: Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Ali Foster
: Senior

Kelly Iden
: Junior

Hannah Kimbrough
: Senior

Grace Summers
: Sophomore