With only two regular season matches left for Eastern tennis, the men and women will be looking toward the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament to salvage a disappointing season.

The men sit at 4-13 overall this season and have a brutal 1-4 OVC record with two conference matches left vs. Murray State and Austin Peay.

This means the best shape the men can come out of the season is with a 3-4 OVC record, which will be better than last years mark at 3-5.

This is a realistic goal for the Panthers as both teams since their last match up are under .500.

Murray State is 4-9 record and Austin Peay is 3-5.

If the Panthers sneak away with a couple of conference wins at season’s end, it could possibly spark them of momentum that could carry them through the OVC Tournament.

The men hope to end this season positively this weekend as they compete against Murray State on the road at 2 p.m. Saturday and then will come home on Sunday to end the season versus Austin Peay on Darling Courts at noon Sunday.

On the women’s side, the Panthers are sitting better than the men.

Winning 5-2 against Southeast Missouri, the women are 6-10 overall and have a very manageable 3-4 OVC record.

The Panthers have two conference matches left coming this weekend against Murray State and Austin Peay, the same as the men.

They will first travel to Murray State, taking on a beatable opponent with the same losing record of 6-10.

The women then travel back home to play a tough 13-2 Austin Peay.

Austin Peay are currently in an eight-match winning streak as the Panthers are looking to snap.

If the women walk out with a couple wins, they could turn their disappointing season into a storybook comeback.

Dane Urban can be reached at 581-7944 or dcurban@eiu.edu