Tech stays unbeaten in OVC play with 5-2 win at Jacksonville State
A showdown between two Ohio Valley Conference unbeaten tennis teams is set up for Thursday in Cookeville when Tennessee Tech will host Austin Peay. On Sunday, the Golden Eagles remained perfect in the league with a 5-2 win at Jacksonville State.
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- A showdown is set up for Thursday at noon
in Cookeville between two unbeaten Ohio Valley Conference tennis
teams when Tennessee Tech will host Austin Peay on the TTU campus
courts.
The Golden Eagles (7-7 overall/5-0 OVC) remained undefeated within
the league Sunday with a 5-2 win at Jacksonville State. It was
Tech's sixth consecutive dual match victory and snapped a
five-match win streak by the Gamecocks.
Freshman Alejandro Augusto [in photo] and senior Justin Kirstein
each remained unbeaten in OVC singles and doubles play in the
match, keying the victory for Kenny Doyle's team. The pair combined
to claim their No. 3 doubles match, an 8-4 decision over Felipe
Watanabe and Felipe Wenzel,a win that set the stage for some drama
in the No. 1 doubles contest.
After JSU's pair of Jordan Cowling and Igor Santos had managed an
8-2 victory over Vasily Eremeev and Artem Tarasov in the No. 2
spot, the doubles point came down to the No. 1 position.
The Tech tandem of Alex Chen and Syrym Abdukhalikov edged Axel
Sundberg and Nenad Marcec, 9-8, to capture the point.
Up 1-0, the Golden Eagles then swept to four wins in the six
singles events for the victory, three of the wins coming in
straight sets.
Abduhkalikov handed Sundberg a 6-4, 6-3 loss at No. 1, Augusto
downed Marcec 6-0, 6-4 at No. 3, and Kirstein claimed a 6-3, 6-4
win over Watanabe at No. 5. The win by Augusto snapped an 11-match
win streak by Marcec.
Tech's final point came with a three-set win at No. 6 as Eremeev
outlasted Wenzel, 3-6, 6-2, 10-3.
Santos notched the Gamecocks' first point in singles with a 6-0,
6-1 win over Chen in the No. 2 spot. Freshman Jordan Cowling earned
a 6-1, 7-6 win over Tarasov at No. 4.
Tech and Austin Peay will begin their match at noon Thursday, and
admission is free.
