The Eastern men’s and women’s tennis squads ended their respective Ohio Valley Conference losing streaks by sweeping Tennessee State on Sunday 7-0 each.

The wins improve the Panther men and women to 4-13 (1-4 OVC) and 5-10 (2-4 OVC), respectively.

However, both Eastern squads were swept by Jacksonville State, as the Gamecocks hit past the Panthers 6-1 against the men and 7-0 for the women Friday.

Senior Jeff Rutherford edged his Jacksonville State at the top of the lineup (6-1, 0-6, 6-1).

The men dropped the doubles point but the Rutherford/Justin Haag duo squeaked out a 9-8 win.

The women were blanked losing 7-0, but No. 5 singles player Annie Egan pushed her opponent deep into a tiebreaker but eventually lost 15-13. No. 4 singles player Shannon Brooks forced a tiebreaker, too, but fell 12-10. Jacksonville State won the doubles point by taking all three doubles match-ups.

The Eastern men return to action on Wednesday, hosting instate rival Southern Illinois in a midweek match at 3 pm. The Panther women, meanwhile, travel to Southeast Missouri on Tuesday.

Freshman Justin Haag serves the ball against Tennessee State Sunday morning at Darling Courts. (Audrey Sawyer/The Daily Estern News)

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