CHARLESTON, Ill. - This week the Eastern Illinois men's tennis team are scheduled for two Ohio Valley Conference match ups in Nashville, Tenn. On Friday (Mar. 31) at 2 p.m. the Panthers will face Belmont and on Saturday (Apr. 1) at 10 a.m. they take on Tennessee State to close out the weekend.
The Panthers are 3-16 on the season and 0-3 in the OVC previously losing to Eastern Kentucky in last week's conference match. EIU was victorious in last week's non-conference match against Marian (IND), winning 7-2 to close out the weekend.
Both trent Reiman and
Gage Kingsmith picked up three set victories over the Knights with Kingsmith earning his first career win from the No. 1 position. Fellow freshman
Marko Stefan Janjusic also recorded a singles victory to improve to a team-leading 8-11 overall record in his first season at EIU.
In doubles play, the Panther pairs of
Jared Woodson and
Jacob Wendell along with
Grant Reiman and Kingsmith each earned their second wins of the year.
The Eastern Illinois men's tennis team looks to earn back-to-back wins and their first in the conference this weekend, however, it will be a tough test with Belmont holding a 4-0 series record against the Panthers. Belmont is currently 7-10 on the season after being defeated 5-2 in a matchup against No. 34 Louisville this past Sunday (Mar. 26).
Tennessee State will enter Saturday's match one game over .500 at 5-4 on the season. The Panthers will be the Tigers first match in two weeks after losing to Austin Peay 6-1 Mar. 17. Tennessee State's two week break coincidentally comes before facing EIU who hold a 17-1 record over the Tigers. TSU's only win over the Panthers happened last year in a series that dates back 20 years.
Next week the Panthers will close out OVC play against Austin Peay on the Rex Darling Courts Saturday (Apr. 8) at 2p.m.
