JACKSONVILLE – Following last Sunday's 5-2 win at Central Arkansas in their ASUN Conference opener, Gamecock women's tennis will hit the road on Friday to continue a tough league schedule. Jacksonville State will head to Eastern Kentucky to face a former Ohio Valley Conference rival and start a weekend of ASUN tests.
 
"Every match in-conference presents different challenges," head coach Mike Mucci said. "EKU is a scrappy team that is well-coached, so we'll need to be ready for another good road test."
 
Jax State (11-3) cruised to their second straight win on Sunday in Conway, Ark. Mucci's squad thumped a sub-.500 UCA squad 5-2 in just over two hours after earning four two-set singles victories. This weekend, however, the Gamecocks will head north to face a hungry EKU (4-10, 0-1) squad that just recently restarted their program.
 
Eastern Kentucky tennis was halted from 2018-2022 before voting to reinstate their men's and women's programs for the 2022-23 season. In their first season back on the courts, the Colonels have competed rather well, taking points from talented teams like Louisville and Chattanooga and even defeating other respectable opponents in Presbyterian and Tennessee State. EKU enters Friday's match losers of four in a row, though, after falling 5-2 to Lipscomb at home last Sunday.
 
The Gamecocks have struggled historically against their former OVC opponent. Jax State lost four straight against EKU in the mid-2000s before claiming consecutive victories in 2010 and 2011. Eastern Kentucky reclaimed their winning streak in the 2010s and have won the last six meetings, with the most recent being a 5-2 triumph at the JSU Tennis Courts on March 30, 2018.
 
Links to follow along with Friday's match at Eastern Kentucky will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. The women's match is slated for a 1 p.m. start and will follow the men's contest, which begins at 10 a.m.
 
Jacksonville State tennis will return home on Sunday to play host to North Alabama. Sunday's women's match will start around 10 a.m. and men's action will follow.
 
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Twitter (@JaxStateTN), Instagram (@JaxStateMTennis), and Facebook (Jacksonville State University Tennis) accounts.