JACKSONVILLE – Gamecock women's tennis will round out the conference portion of the regular season this weekend. Jacksonville State will look to end a three-match losing streak as they take on Austin Peay at the Mountain Brook YMCA around 7 p.m.
 
The match, which was originally slated to take place at the JSU Tennis Courts, was moved to the indoor facility in Jefferson County due to the likelihood of storms on Saturday.
 
"Austin Peay is very well coached and has always had my respect, dating back to our days in the Ohio Valley Conference," head coach Mike Mucci said. "Regardless of who we play, we feel like if we bring our best stuff, we can win. Saturday is no different, and we know we will have to be prepared for a battle."
 
Jax State (14-6, 4-3) had a tough weekend at home last time out, falling in two league matches. They suffered a 7-0 loss on Friday morning to ASUN foe North Florida and dropped a heartbreaker to Kennesaw State two days later, 5-2. Now, Mucci's women will look for a rebound on Saturday as they play a strong Governors (14-5, 5-2) team in the conference finale.
 
APSU comes in following a 5-2 win at Central Arkansas on Thursday. They have had a bit of an up-and-down 2023 campaign in which they lost to perennial powers Louisville and Middle Tennessee State but posted upset wins against Chattanooga and Western Kentucky. The Governors have lost to FGCU and North Florida in league action but earned decisive wins against Eastern Kentucky, Lipscomb, and Queens, and a slim victory over Stetson.
 
Jacksonville State is 12-4 all-time versus Austin Peay. The Gamecocks won their final showdown as Ohio Valley Conference opponents in March 2021, 4-3, but have lost three of the last five meetings dating back to 2016. Prior to that narrow loss on Apr. 16, 2016, Jax State had scored wins in ten of eleven pairings since 2005.
 
Along with serving as the 2023 ASUN Conference regular season finale, Saturday's match will serve as the Morgan's Message Dedication Game for the women's tennis squad. The Jacksonville State University Athletic Department will be dedicating the contest to the life and legacy of Morgan Rodgers, a former Duke University lacrosse student-athlete who died tragically in July 2019 after battling mental health struggles. Morgan's Message was created by her family and former teammates with the mission to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health, normalize the conversations about mental health and ensure that mental health is treated equally to physical health for all student-athletes. For more information on Morgan's life and legacy and how you can help those with mental health struggles, please visit morgansmessage.org.
 
Links to follow along with Saturday's match against APSU will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. The men's contest will precede men's action and has a first serve set for 4 p.m.
 
Jacksonville State's women play one more game before concluding the regular season. The Gamecocks will make the trip west to Birmingham next Tuesday for a non-conference bout at UAB. The two sides were originally slated to play on March 9, but that was postponed due to inclement weather. Tuesday's match in Jefferson County will begin at 1 p.m.
 
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Twitter (@JaxStateTN), Instagram (@JaxStateWTennis), and Facebook (Jacksonville State University Tennis) accounts.