Murray State University Athletics
Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics
Racer Tennis Gets Share Of Top Spot In OVC Preseason Poll
1/25/2019 10:27:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Murray State women's tennis squad shared honors with Austin Peay as co-favorites in the Ohio Valley Conference predicted order of finish for the spring 2019 season. Voting was conducted by the OVC's head coaches.
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"It is great to get the recognition from the other coaches as one of the top teams in our conference, but we know this doesn't guarantee anything," said Murray State head coach Jorge Caetano. "Our team is very focused on finishing the season at the top and that's what we have been working for day in and day out."
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The Racers received three of the nine first place votes, while the Govs got six. Jacksonville State was picked third, ahead of Southeast Missouri State and fifth-place Eastern Illinois. Belmont was sixth in the voting with UT Martin, SIUE and Tennessee State making up the rest of the rankings.
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The OVC coaches also voted the top-10 player rankings where the Racers placed three. Junior Claire Chang (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) was voted second behind Lidia Yanes Garcia of APSU. Murray State sophomores Stasya Sharapova (Astana, Kazakhstan) and Aarja Chakraborty (Gautam Budh Nagar, India) were ninth and 10th on the list.
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"Getting three players on the OVC preseason top-10 squad among the great competitors that are on there just shows the depth of our team," Caetano added. "Claire, Srasya and Aarja all had great seasons last year and now with more experience, I am confident they can do even greater things for us this year."
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The Racers' 2019 season begins with a pair of indoor events at the Kenlake Tennis Center in Aurora, Kentucky. The Racers host Cumberland (Feb. 2) and Lipscomb (Feb. 8). MSU's OVC opener is at Tennessee State (March 22). The 2019 OVC Women's Tennis Championships is at the Centennial Sportsplex Tennis Center (April 26-28) in Nashville. It marks the fifth-straight year the event will be held at the venue.
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2019 OVC Women-s Tennis
Predicted Order of Finish
T1. Austin Peay (6) – 58
T1. Murray State (3) – 58
3. Jacksonville State – 43
4. Southeast Missouri – 40
5. Eastern Illinois – 35
6. Belmont – 32
7. UT Martin – 25
8. SIUE – 24
9. Tennessee State – 9
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2019 OVC Women's Tennis Preseason Player Top 10
1. Lidia Yanes Garcia, Austin Peay – Sr. – Los Realejos, Spain
2. Claire Chang, Murray State – Jr. – Kaohsiung, Taiwan
3. Fabiene Schmidt, Austin Peay – So. – Hillscheid, Germany
4. Tatiana Lopez, Austin Peay – Jr. – Togliatti, Russa
5. Rachel Papavasilopoulos, Eastern Illinois – So. – Boca Raton, Fla.
6. Kseniya Zonova, Southeast Missouri – Jr. – Kharkiv, Ukraine
T7. Harriett Hamilton, Jacksonville State – Fr. – Italy
T7. Asel Jumamukhambetova, UT Martin – Sr. – Atyrau, Kazakhstan
9. Stasya Sharapova, Murray State – So. – Astana, Kazakhstan
10. Aarja Chakraborty, Murray State – So. – Gautam Budh Nagar, India
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"It is great to get the recognition from the other coaches as one of the top teams in our conference, but we know this doesn't guarantee anything," said Murray State head coach Jorge Caetano. "Our team is very focused on finishing the season at the top and that's what we have been working for day in and day out."
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The Racers received three of the nine first place votes, while the Govs got six. Jacksonville State was picked third, ahead of Southeast Missouri State and fifth-place Eastern Illinois. Belmont was sixth in the voting with UT Martin, SIUE and Tennessee State making up the rest of the rankings.
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The OVC coaches also voted the top-10 player rankings where the Racers placed three. Junior Claire Chang (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) was voted second behind Lidia Yanes Garcia of APSU. Murray State sophomores Stasya Sharapova (Astana, Kazakhstan) and Aarja Chakraborty (Gautam Budh Nagar, India) were ninth and 10th on the list.
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"Getting three players on the OVC preseason top-10 squad among the great competitors that are on there just shows the depth of our team," Caetano added. "Claire, Srasya and Aarja all had great seasons last year and now with more experience, I am confident they can do even greater things for us this year."
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The Racers' 2019 season begins with a pair of indoor events at the Kenlake Tennis Center in Aurora, Kentucky. The Racers host Cumberland (Feb. 2) and Lipscomb (Feb. 8). MSU's OVC opener is at Tennessee State (March 22). The 2019 OVC Women's Tennis Championships is at the Centennial Sportsplex Tennis Center (April 26-28) in Nashville. It marks the fifth-straight year the event will be held at the venue.
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2019 OVC Women-s Tennis
Predicted Order of Finish
T1. Austin Peay (6) – 58
T1. Murray State (3) – 58
3. Jacksonville State – 43
4. Southeast Missouri – 40
5. Eastern Illinois – 35
6. Belmont – 32
7. UT Martin – 25
8. SIUE – 24
9. Tennessee State – 9
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2019 OVC Women's Tennis Preseason Player Top 10
1. Lidia Yanes Garcia, Austin Peay – Sr. – Los Realejos, Spain
2. Claire Chang, Murray State – Jr. – Kaohsiung, Taiwan
3. Fabiene Schmidt, Austin Peay – So. – Hillscheid, Germany
4. Tatiana Lopez, Austin Peay – Jr. – Togliatti, Russa
5. Rachel Papavasilopoulos, Eastern Illinois – So. – Boca Raton, Fla.
6. Kseniya Zonova, Southeast Missouri – Jr. – Kharkiv, Ukraine
T7. Harriett Hamilton, Jacksonville State – Fr. – Italy
T7. Asel Jumamukhambetova, UT Martin – Sr. – Atyrau, Kazakhstan
9. Stasya Sharapova, Murray State – So. – Astana, Kazakhstan
10. Aarja Chakraborty, Murray State – So. – Gautam Budh Nagar, India
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