Down in the third set of her No. 2 singles match, junior Madina Mambetova fell to the ground holding her ankle. She would get up and continue the match, pulling out a tough, exhausting victory that lasted more than two hours.

Exhausting was the theme of the day as Eastern’s match-up against Austin Peay had to be moved into the field house to be finished because the sun set before the final matches could be decided.

Senior Jill Wirtz and sophomore Sean Bush won the deciding matches for the Panthers as Eastern beat Austin Peay. The men won 5-2 and the women beat the Lady Govs 4-3.

“Sean and Jill were exceptional for us today,” said head coach John Blackburn. “They were the standouts for us.”

The men, like the women, won the doubles point and got singles victories from Chuck LeVaque, Vuk Milicevic, Sean Bush, and Jordan Nestrud. Milicevic won in straight sets at No. 2 singles but it was not an easy match-up.

“I went up quickly and won the first set but I lost focus a little,” said Milicevic “I get nervous sometimes thinking about all the people I want to win for, but coach Blackburn talked with me and calmed me down and I got the win.”

The women added to their doubles point with singles wins from Sandra Sasidharan, Mambetova, and Wirtz.

Both Panther teams were able to get their first victories at home this season, and the women added their first Ohio Valley Conference victory. The women improved their record to 4-11 (1-4 OVC) and the men are now 8-7 (2-3 OVC).

The Panthers have Thursday off but go on the road to Murray, Ky., to take on three OVC opponents in three consecutive days.

The Panthers will face the host Racers at 3 p.m. Thursday then they will then battle Jacksonville State on Friday before finishing with Samford at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

“Instead of going all the way to Alabama, Murray was kind enough to give us some neutral courts so we could meet Jacksonville and Samford half-way,”coach Blackburn said.