CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas tennis team will look to avoid their fourth straight loss on Friday afternoon as they will welcome the Austin Peay Governors to Burns Park in Little Rock for a 1 p.m. match. Fans of the Bears (1-3) will only get a quick glimpse of the new-look roster as Central Arkansas will hit the road for eight straight matches after tomorrow.
 
MEET THE AUSTIN PEAY GOVERNORS
 
The Austin Peay Governors reside in Clarksville, Tennessee and will face the Bears after dropping their season opener to the Chattanooga Mocs 4-3 on January 20. After a historic 22-1 2019 campaign that ended in a 4-0 loss to Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament, the Governors were picked to win their second straight Ohio Valley Conference regular season title by the conference coaches on January 16.
 
Along with the first-place projection, the Governors were the only conference team that landed three players – 5'11 junior Fabienne Schmidt, sophomore Danielle Morris, sophomore Martina Paladini-Jennings -- on the 2020 OVC Women's Tennis Preseason Top 10 List. Schmidt earned Second-Team All-OVC honors last year after winning her final 12 singles matches and finishing with a 10-2 doubles mark with Morris primarily by her side. Morris enjoyed a phenomenal freshman season with finishes of 17-3 in singles and 12-3 in doubles. Her 11-match win streak was the longest streak by a freshman in program history. Paladini-Jennings joined the Governors after a freshman campaign at East Carolina that saw a 17-8 overall record. The team is also comprised of two freshmen, two other sophomores and one senior.
 
HEAD COACH CASEY WHARTON ON THE MATCH
 
"I'm excited to get back out on the court and compete again. Last week had a lot of great competition and I know this week will be a great matchup as well. Austin Peay was good last year, and I think they'll be good again this season.
 
"I know the team is excited and I am too. If you have a chance to come out and watch, come join us!"
 
 KEEP UP WITH THE BEARS
 
There will not be a live stream or live stats to follow during the match. For any in-match updates, follow @UCATennis on Twitter.