CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois men's and women's tennis split a home finale dual versus Ohio Valley Conference rival Morehead State on Sunday (April 14), with the Panther women picking up a 6-1 win, while the EIU men dropped a 5-2 contest.

With the win, the Eastern women improve to 12-5 overall and finish league play at 7-3, with the Panthers earning the No. 4 Seed at the upcoming six-team league championship, which gets underway on April 19-21 at the Heflin Tennis Center in Paducah, Ky.

The Panther men, meanwhile, finish the campaign at 7-10 on the season and 2-7 in OVC action.

Both EIU units earned the all-important doubles point as the women won at both No. 2 and No. 3 duos by the same 8-2 scores, while the guys earned No. 1 and No. 2 wins.

Senior Warren Race was the lone singles winner for the Panther men, as he clawed past his No. 2 opponent in three sets.  Classmate Michael Sperry, unfortunately, dropped a straight set contest at the top of the lineup.

The women, meanwhile, won five of the six singles matchups, with seniors Merritt Whitley and Kristen Laird making the most of their home finale to earn respective No. 2 and No. 6 wins in three and two sets.  Laird actually blanked her Eagle opponent.

Despire losing at the No. 1 spot, junior Janelle Prisner made her MSU opponent earn the win as she pushed the match to a three-set thriller.

The Panther women will open OVC Tennis Championship action against No. 5-Austin Peay at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 19 down in Paducah, Ky.  Following that match, EIU will look to advance to the OVC Semifinal against the top-seeded Eastern Kentucky squad the next morning, also at 10 a.m.

EIU Women 6, MOR Women 1
April 14, 2013 in Charleston, Ill.
CHS Tennis Courts

Singles
1. Briar Preston (MOR) def. Janelle Prisner (EIU) - 6-1, 2-6, 10-3
2. Merritt Whitley (EIU) def. Victoria Cran (MOR) - 7-6, 6-7, 10-6
3. Sephora Boulbahaiem (EIU) def. Sandrine Beaule (MOR) - 6-2, 6-0
4. Jennifer Kim (EIU) def. Lissa Pacheco-Brousseau (MOR) - 6-4, 6-2
5. Ali Foster (EIU) def. Dominique McLean (MOR) - 6-3, 6-1
6. Kristen Laird (EIU) def. Morgan Wright (MOR) - 6-0, 6-0

Doubles
1. Briar Preston/Cran (MOR) def. Prisner/Whitley (EIU) - 8-4
2. Boulbahaiem/Hannah Kimbrough (EIU) def. Beaule/McLean (MOR) - 8-2
3. Foster/Laird (EIU) def. Pacheco-Brousseau/Wright (MOR) - 8-2

Match Notes:
Eastern Illinois ... 12-5 (7-3 OVC)
Morehead State ... 3-17 (2-8 OVC)
... Ohio Valley Conference contest ... senior recognition match

......

MOR Men 5, EIU Men 2
April 14, 2013 in Charleston, Ill.
CHS Tennis Courts

Singles
1. Ji Hoon Heo (MOR) def. Michael Sperry (EIU) - 6-4, 6-4
2. Warren Race (EIU) def. Nathan Martin (MOR) - 6-2, 4-6, 10-7
3. Giovanni Samaha (MOR) def. Robert Skolik (EIU) - 7-5, 4-0, retired
4. David Clifford (MOR) def. Rui Silva (EIU) - 6-3, 6-3
5. Nick Mercer (MOR) def. Kevin Bauman (EIU) - 6-3, 6-3
6. Kevin Deligny (MOR) def. Volodymyr Zverkovsky (EIU) - 6-0, 6-3

Doubles
1. Sperry/Race (EIU) def. Heo/Mercer (MOR) - 9-8
2. Bauman/Skolik (EIU) def. Clifford/Deligny (MOR) - 8-5
3. Martin/Hugo Almonte (MOR) def. Silva/David Constantinescu (EIU) - 8-4

Match Notes:
Eastern Illinois ... 7-10 (2-7 OVC)
Morehead State ... 8-12 (4-5 OVC)
... Ohio Valley Conference contest ... senior recognition match

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID