The Eastern women’s and men’s tennis teams are aiming toward a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. They have a chance with their final matches this weekend at Darling Courts.

The women’s tennis team (7-10, 3-4 OVC) will play Southeast Missouri at 3 p.m. Friday and Murray State at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The men’s tennis team (10-10, 3-4) is also hosting Murray State at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“We would have liked to have played a little better in the OVC this season, but both teams are still in position to qualify for a spot to be one of the six teams in the OVC tournament,” said Eastern head coach John Blackburn.

The men’s team is tied for fifth place with an OVC record of 3-4. Morehead State (8-6, 3-4) and Tennessee Martin (5-10, 3-4) are in fifth place.

Eastern has lost to Morehead State, but defeated Tennessee Martin. Tennessee Martin has lost to Morehead State. The Panthers can make the tourney with a win against Murray State (6-8, 3-3) on Saturday and get in. But if they lose, Tennessee Martin must also lose against Jacksonville State (16-2 / 4-1).

“We need to play with a little more consistency than we did against Tennessee Tech,” Blackburn said. “We played well at times against Tennessee Tech, but we will need to focus more heading into this weekend. We need to remain playing at a high level throughout the match if we are going to be successful.”

The women’s tennis team is in sixth place. Southeast Missouri (1-17, 1-6) is in ninth place.

As long as Eastern defeats Southeast Missouri, the Panthers should assure themselves of a bid. Murray State’s match could decide where the Panthers are seeded for the OVC Tournament.

The Murray State women’s tennis team (10-7, 4-3) is coming off of a 6-1 victory against Austin Peay.

Eastern senior Vuk Milicevic agreed with Blackburn. If the Eastern men’s squad is going to be successful, they must remain focused and perform with mental toughness.

“I think we need to pick up where we left off when we played Austin Peay and Tennessee Martin,” Milicevic said.

Last season the men’s tennis team finished in a three-way tie for third place but lost in the OVC Tournament first round.

The women’s tennis team finished in a three-way tie for fifth place, but the Panthers were not allowed in the tournament because of a coaches vote.

Men’s Tennis

Team / Overall / OVC

E. Kentucky / 15-8 / 6-0

Tennessee Tech / 10-6 / 5-1

Jacksonville State / 16-2 / 4-1

Murray State / 6-8 / 3-3

Morehead State 8-6 / 3-4

E. Illinois / 10-10 / 3-4

Tennessee Martin / 5-10 / 3-4

Austin Peay / 3-12 / 1-5

Tennessee State / 0-10/ 0-6

Women’s Tennis

Team / OVC / Overall

E. Kentucky / 7-0 / 18-5

Tennessee Martin / 6-1 / 10-6

Jacksonville State / 5-1 / 11-5

Tennessee Tech / 5-2 / 6-7

Murray State / 4-3 / 10-7

E. Illinois / 3-4 / 7-11

Morehead State / 2-6 / 10-10

Austin Peay / 2-5 / 3-14

SE Missouri / 1-6/ 1-17

Tennessee State / 0-7 / 0-11

Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or at jnschneider@eiu.edu.

Eastern freshman Jamie Firth vollies during a home match against Indiana State on April 1 at the Darling Courts. (Karolina Strack/The Daily Eastern News)

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