Men’s tennis set for two matches this weekend

Tyler McCluskey, Staff Reporter

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