This past weekend saw both the Eastern men’s and women’s tennis teams on the road in Ohio Valley Conference action. On Friday, the teams took on Austin Peay University.

“It’s always tough to play at Austin Peay,” said head coach Brian Holzgrafe.

The men were defeated 6-1, while the women picked up a 5-2 victory. Sophomore Chuck LeVaque was a bright spot for the men on Friday, picking up a win at No. 1 singles by defeating Ankur Sigla 6-3. 6-7 (10-8), 6-4. In action at No. 2 doubles, LeVaque paired up with freshman Sean Bush to record a 8-6 victory over Austin Peay’s doubles team of Cody Wall and Brett Bolton.

On the women’s side, all-around strong play led to victory over Austin Peay. In six of the singles matches, Eastern picked up wins in four of them, with freshman Sandra Sasidharan leading the pack with a win at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-3 over Elizabeth Whelpey.

Sophomore Madina Mambetova picked up a 6-3, 6-3 straight set victory at No. 3 singles, sophomore Jill Wirtz won easily 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5 singles, and at No. 6 singles, freshman Ashley Glover won in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).

In doubles action, the No. 1 doubles team of Sarah Freeman and Sasidharan emerged victorious, and the No. 2 doubles team of Mambetova and Wirtz also won their match.

The teams traveled to Nashville, Tenn. to take on Samford at a neutral setting on Saturday. Both teams came away with losses, a 6-1 defeat for the men and a 7-0 loss for the women.

On the men’s side, LeVaque continued his strong play and picked up the only team point with a win at No. 1 singles with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Manuel Militec.

On the women’s side, all matches were close and competitive, but Samford, the reigning 2004 OVC tournament champion, was able to have the edge.

“We are capable of competing with Samford on both the men’s and the women’s side,” said Holzgrafe.

On Sunday both teams faced off against Tennessee State. On the men’s and women’s side, the two teams came away with a shutout of Tennessee State, winning all six singles matches and picking up the doubles point to win 7-0.

“Overall, this weekend was real good in terms of how we played,” said Holzgrafe.

With this tough three matches in three-day road trip out of the way, both teams can now relax for a few days before getting back in play. The men, 3-6 overall, have their next match this upcoming Saturday in Chicago against DePaul.

The women, 3-2 overall, have a bit longer layoff, as they do not get back into action until next Wednesday when they travel to Indianapolis to take on IUPUI.