Sophomore Natalie Martin argues with a referee about an Eastern Kentucky University player during Eastern’s match against EKU at Darling Courts on April 13. Martin lost the match 6-2, 6-3.

They were expected to not make the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. They were supposed to finish near the bottom on the league. The men’s and women’s tennis teams proved the OVC wrong. The men’s team was selected to finish in a tie for eighth place and finished fifth in the regular season. “We were kind of shocked that by the ranking too,” freshman Jeff Rutherford said of the preseason ranking. The women were also selected to finish in eighth, but finished third in the regular season.“I’m so happy I was part of this year,” said senior Madina Mambetova. Mambetova also said she would come back next year if not for graduation. “She’s been a great player as leader and as a player,” said Eastern head coach John Blackburn.  The women’s tennis team finished 13-9, 7-3 in the OVC.It was the highest OVC finish for the Panthers and it marked the first time since the Panthers had gone to the OVC Tournament since 2005. That year they were a No. 8 seed.Actual Finish: Men’s Tennis

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