The men’s tennis team will have two conference matches this weekend against Murray State and Austin Peay.

The Panthers (2-9) are coming off a close loss against the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Cougars 4-3.

Senior Ryan Henderson won over Matthew Hutchinson 6-3, 6-2 improving his singles record to 7-3 on the year. Senior Robert Skolik won his match 7-5, 6-2 against Tristan Houle.

Sophomore Trent Reiman beat Nico Kuehn 6-1, 6-4, his first singles win of the season. For doubles, Henderson and sophomore Jared Woodson went unfinished against Houle and Patrick Gaffigan. Reiman and his brother Grant lost 6-4 to Kuehn and Dan Lineberry. Skolik and senior Rui Silva were defeated 6-3 by Jack Desse and Hutchinson.

The Panthers all-time record against Murray State is 7-15. The Panthers have won the last three years against the Racers. The Racers (2-12) are on a five-match losing streak. They have lost their last two OVC matchups against Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.

Austin Peay is winless on the year with an 0-7 record. Both the Panthers and the Governors have faced Southern Illinois-Carbondale this season, both teams were swept. The Panthers last win was in 2009 and have an all-time record against Austin Peay of 10-14. The Governors also have lost to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State in OVC play.

The Panthers take on Murray State at 1:30 p.m. in Murray, Kentucky on Friday and then take on Austin Peay Saturday at 2 p.m. in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Tyler McCluskey can be reached at 581-2812 or trmccluskey@eiu.edu