Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
Racer Tennis Heads East to EKU and Morehead
4/3/2014 1:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
Women's Tennis at Eastern Kentucky
Women's Tennis at Morehead State
Men's Tennis at Eastern Kentucky
Men's Tennis at Morehead State
Something has to give on Saturday as Murray State's women's tennis team, undefeated in conference play at 6-0, battle the only team they're looking up at in the standings, Eastern Kentucky. EKU is ahead of the Racers in wins only, as they sit at 8-0 in OVC. The two teams are the only undefeateds left in the OVC.
This weekend will be the toughest test for MSU, as not only do they battle the undefeated Colonials Saturday (April 5), but they turn around and take on third-place Morehead State Sunday (April 5).
The 6-0 start for the Racers is their best since 2004, when they finished atop the OVC at 10-0. Three of the Racers six matches took place last week, as they defeated Austin Peay (March 25), SIUE (March 29) and Eastern Illinois (March 30).
The Racers were led by OVC Player of the Week Andrea Eskauriatza, who went 6-0 in the three matches. Eskauriatza took down all three teams top players at the No. 1 draw and teamed with Erin Patton to go 3-0 in doubles, two on court two and one from the top position.
In conference singles play, the Racers are off to an astounding 32-2 start. Eleonore and Verginie Tchakarova are a perfect 6-0, while Eskauriatza, Patton and Megan Blue are all 5-0.
Conference leading EKU has two of the top three preseason athletes in Amandine Faouzi and Kristina Labeja. Those two have combined to go 12-1 in conference matches from the No's. 1 and 2 draws. Labeja has taken the majority of the recent matches from the No. 1 position and has won five straight.
Following EKU, the Racers travel to Morehead State to take on the 5-2 Eagles. The Eagles are led by preseason No. 6 ranked Briar Preston. Preston has gone 20-4 to start the season and is 7-0 in the OVC at first singles. Preston and doubles partner Alex Tachovski have won six straight matches as the Eagles have taken the doubles point in five of their last six.
Morehead has the top draws locked down, but it gets dicey after that. The Eagles are a combined 19-48 in dual matches at draws 3-6.
Murray State's men will also travel to Richmond and Morehead this weekend. The Racer men are coming off of a nonconference win in their final home match against Western Kentucky. The win was the sixth straight vs. the Hilltoppers.
Senior Adam Taylor has been hot winning his last three singles matches against SIUE (March 29), Eastern Kentucky (March 30) and WKU (April 1). Taylor and doubles partner Max McLean have also won their last three doubles matches. All six matches have come from the top draws.
The Racers won five singles matches in their 5-2 win over WKU. MSU took the first five singles draws to secure the victory.
EKU enters the match are 8-9 on the season and 2-4 in conference play. The Colonials are coming off of a loss to Morehead earlier in the week. Having lost two in a row, EKU is 1-3 in their last four matches.
The only winning draw for EKU comes from the No. 2 position. The Colonials are 9-7 from the second draw.
Alex Alvaro plays top draw in both singles and doubles. Alvaro is 7-9 in singles and, with partner Juanio de la Llera, are 8-8.
Morehead State is just one of four teams in the OVC with a winning record at 3-2. The Eagles are coming off of a mid-week win over Eastern Kentucky, 5-2. Prior to EKU, the Eagles snapped a three-match losing streak with a win over TSU last weekend.
The Eagles have has success in the backend of singles matches. Morehead is a combined 17-7 from the No's. 5 and 6 draws from David Clifford and Gabriel Ruiz.
Jack Swindells improved to 4-2 in OVC matches from the top draw with a win over EKU. He sits at an even 6-6 record this spring.
