OVC TENNIS TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State's men's and women's tennis teams are gearing up for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, which begins Thursday at the Larry Heflin Tennis Center in Paducah, Ky.
The MSU women (11-10/8-2 OVC), seeded third, face sixth-seed Eastern Illinois in the first round at 3 p.m. ET. The men are seeded fifth and face fourth-seed SIU Edwardsville in the first round at 11 a.m.
"I really feel like we have a legit shot at winning this women's tournament," Head Coach Kevin Fulton said. "And if you ask any of the six coaches on the men's side, I believe they would say any team could win it."
The women's lineup features Briar Preston at No. 1 singles, who went 10-0 in the league, and Andrea LeBlanc at No. 2. LeBlanc was 7-3 against league competition. At No. 4, junior transfer Alex Tachovsky, who became eligible at the start of the OVC schedule, was the missing piece, according to Fulton.
"Briar played exceptional this year. She won 23 matches in the fall and spring," he said. "But getting Alex eligible was crucial. We went through some adversity with only having five players for most of the spring, but she helped so much with the continuity of the team. Honestly though, everyone in the lineup played major roles at certain times this season."
Freshman Hayley Wild manned the lower end of the lineup at No. 6 and collected wins in seven of the nine league contests.
MSU defeated Eastern Illinois 4-3 on March 15. The Eagles fell at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles but won at Nos. 1,2,3 and 6 singles to rally for a win. If MSU advances, it will face No. 2 Eastern Kentucky in the semifinals Friday at 3 p.m.
The men's team (9-9) finished 4-5 in the league, but lost three of those by 4-3 counts.
"I really like our first round opponent. I believe we have something to prove," Fulton said. "I know that (seniors) David Clifford and Ji Hoon Heo want to go out on a good note. We had some productive meetings and practices with the men's players leading up to this event."
MSU dropped a 4-3 decision to SIUE on March 16. The teams split the singles matches following doubles wins at Nos. 2 and 3 for the Cougars.
Clifford finished 7-2 in the conference at No. 5 singles this year. Sophomore Giovanni Samaha was 6-3 at No. 2.
If the men advance, they will be matched up against top seed Jacksonville State Friday at 11 a.m.
