Tennessee Tech men and Austin Peay women are predicted to win their respective 2021 OVC Tennis titles in a poll of the league's head coaches. The Golden Eagles earned 25 points while the Governors took 64 points. The Belmont men received 21 points for a predicted second-place finish while Jacksonville State follows in third with 17 points. Rounding out the men's poll are Austin Peay (13), Eastern Illinois (9) and Tennessee State (6). On the women's side, Murray State grabbed second place with 52 points followed by Southeast Missouri with 46 points. Jacksonville State (43), Belmont (40), SIUE (30), Eastern Illinois (20), UT Martin (20) and Tennessee State (9) complete the women's poll.
The Tennessee Tech men went 5-4 overall last year before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the Golden Eagles went 4-1 in the OVC and 10-14 overall to earn a shar of the OVC regular-season title. Tech went onto win the league tournament. The Golden Eagles had four players ranked in the preseason's top 10 with freshman Evzen Hollis at No. 4 followed by Elias Grubert at No. 5, sophomore Carlos Vincente at No. 7 and Rafael Tosetto at No. 9.
The Austin Peay women finished the shortened 2020 season with a 9-3 overall record. In 2019, the Governors went undefeated in OVC play and 22-1 overall to win the OVC regular-season title and the tournament crown. APSU's only loss of the season came in the NCAA Tournament. Austin Peay had three players on the preseason top 10 list with senior Fabiene Schmidt at the No. 1 spot followed by junior Danielle Morris at No. 5 and sophomore Jana Leder at No. 7.
The 2021 OVC Tennis Championship will take place April 24-25.
2021 OVC Men's Tennis Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league's head coaches)
1. Tennessee Tech (5 first-place votes) - 25
2. Belmont (1 first-place vote) - 21
3. Jacksonville State - 17
4. Austin Peay - 13
5. Eastern Illinois - 9
6. Tennessee State – 6
2021 OVC Women's Tennis Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league's head coaches)
1. Austin Peay (8 first-place votes) - 64
2. Murray State (1 first-place vote)- 52
3. Southeast Missouri - 46
4. Jacksonville State - 43
5. Belmont - 40
6. SIUE - 30
t7. Eastern Illinois - 20
t7. UT Martin -20
9. Tennessee State - 9