EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Ohio Valley Conference announced Friday afternoon that University of Southern Indiana Women’s Tennis was voted to finish seventh in the OVC preseason poll. The Screaming Eagles, who are in their second season of NCAA Division I, will take on the University of Cincinnati Saturday at 5:30 p.m. for the first match of the 2024 season.
Leading the voting was Southeast Missouri State University who received five first-place votes while Southern Illinois University Edwardsville followed behind with two nods for first place. Following the Redhawks and Cougars in voting was Eastern Illinois University, Tennessee State University, Western Illinois University, Lindenwood University, and USI, respectively. Last season, SEMO took the crown after defeating SIUE, 4-2, in the championship match.
USI will face 20 different opponents in 2024 with nine home, nine road, and two neutral matches. Home matches will be split between the Evansville Tennis Center and USI Tennis Courts throughout the season.
The Eagles’ non-conference slate features Thomas More University (February 3), University of Dayton (February 4), Eastern Kentucky University (March 8), University of Missouri-St. Louis (March 10), and Bradley University (March 17). USI will welcome Western Kentucky University (February 10), Saint Louis University (February 11), Austin Peay State University (February 17), Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (March 1), and Kentucky Wesleyan College (March 25) for non-conference home matches. The Hanover College (April 14) and Indiana University Southeast (April 14) matches will play at Jeffersonville High School in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
In OVC play, USI will look to bounce back with home matches against Eastern Illinois (March 16), SIUE (April 7), and Tennessee State (April 13). The Eagles hit the road for an OVC showdown with Lindenwood (March 24), Western Illinois (March 30), and SEMO (April 5).
The 2024 OVC Women’s Tennis Championship will be held April 19-21 at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri with only the top six teams in the conference make the tournament.
