RICHMOND, Ky. – The 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Tennis Championships begin Friday, April 18, with both Eastern Kentucky University teams in the mix for the league titles. Tennessee State will play host for the three-day event (April 18-20) which will be held at two locations in Nashville, Tenn. – Tennessee State and Belmont tennis courts.

The Eastern Kentucky women (18-6, 9-1 OVC) clinched the No. 2 seed thanks to a 4-3 win at Jacksonville State in the regular season finale. Junior Alexandra Sitnikova (No. 3) enters the tournament on a 10-match singles winning streak. Freshman Myriem Mhirit (No. 4) improved her play as the season went along and is 9-1 in her last 10 singles contests. In doubles, Sitnikova and fellow junior Svetlana Pimenova were 8-2 against OVC competition at the No. 1 spot.

This is the best record the Colonel women have posted since head coach Rob Oertel took over the program in 2002. Since the OVC championships went to a team format in 1996, the EKU women have never advanced to the finals. However, as the No. 2 seed, the Colonels have a bye in the opening round and will face the winner of No. 3 Jacksonville State and No. 6 Tennessee Tech in the semifinals on Saturday.

On the men’s side, Eastern Kentucky (16-11, 6-3) finished in a three-way tie for third place with Jacksonville State and Eastern Illinois. The tie was broken with a draw from a hat, giving EKU the No. 3 seed, Eastern Illinois the No. 4 seed and Jacksonville State the No. 5 position. The Colonels are led by freshman Alex Das Izquierdo (No. 1), who went 15-3 in dual matches this spring and 6-1 against OVC foes.

As the No. 3 seed, EKU opens tournament action against No. 6 UT Martin (6-11, 4-5) on Friday at 11 a.m. The Colonels trailed the Skyhawks, 3-0, before rallying for a 4-3 triumph on April 5. Senior Fred Goncalves capped the comeback with a three-set win at No. 5 singles. If Eastern defeats UTM, the Colonels would face No. 2 Samford in the semifinals (13-8, 8-1) on Saturday.

The EKU men have one team title to their credit, winning the 1951 championship. On the women’s side, EKU has never won the team title, but has finished second on numerous occasions with the last coming in 1990.