February 25, 2015

Tennis team back in action following nearly two-week break due to weather

The Tennessee Tech tennis team gets back to action this weekend with three non-conference dual matches, following a layoff of nearly two weeks due to weather cancellations last weekend.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team gets back to action this weekend with three non-conference dual matches, following a layoff of nearly two weeks due to weather cancellations last weekend.

Coach Kenny Doyle's team will play at East Tennessee State on Friday at 12 p.m. CST, followed by a visit to Georgia Tech on Saturday for a 4:30 pm. CST contest. The weekend wraps up Sunday with a 1 p.m. contest at Kennesaw State.

Tech (1-5) is coming off a busy weekend Feb. 13-14 in which the Golden Eagles played three matches in two days, falling twice Saturday at Tennessee and dropping a tough, 4-3 loss Sunday at UNC Asheville. Matches last week at Kennesaw State against Xavier and Liberty were cancelled.

Eduardo Mena, a freshman from Madrid, Spain playing in the No. 3 singles position, owns the top singles record for the Golden Eagle this spring at 4-2 in dual matches. Junior Alex Arovin and sophomore Alberto Esteban are right behind with 3-2 records while filling the team's two top singles positions.

In doubles play, Arovin and Esteban have paired up for a 3-1 record at No. 1, while in the No. 2 doubles role, Mena and Alvaro Cintas also own a 3-1 record.

ETSU comes into the weekend also facing a break of nearly two weeks on the sidelines. The Bucs upended Texas A&M – Corpus Christi on Feb. 14 in their last outing, improving to 2-6 in duals. ETSU has lost to North Florida, twice to Wake Forest, Washington, Portland, and Georgia Tech, and has wins over Wisconsin ant TAMCC.

The top record in singles play belongs to Ismael Merino with a 3-3 mark while splitting time between No. 5 and No. 6. David Biosca is 2-4 at No 1 this spring, while Rogerio Ribeira is 2-5 at the No. 2 spot. The top ETSU double pair is Conner Huertas and Sebastian Yllera with a 3-3 mark in the No. 3 spot.

This will be the 36^th meeting on the tennis courts between Tech and East Tennessee, with the Bucs holding a 21-14 all-time advantage in the series. ETSU has won 16 of last 19 with the Golden Eagles, including a 6-1 decision in 2012, the first time the two teams met in six years.

The match with Georgia Tech will be the second of the day for the Yellow Jackets, who host Stetson at noon Saturday in the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. It will be only the second time the two Tech teams have faced each other on the tennis courts, with Georgia Tech taking a 5-2 decision in Atlanta in 2009.

Georgia Tech is 5-3 this year, rolling out five consecutive wins to open the season before falling in the last three to ranked opponents. The wins came against Georgia Southern, Mercer, Furman, East Tennessee and The Citadel, with losses to No 4Georgia, No. 38 Auburn and No. 56 Tennessee.

The strength of the squad in singles play has been at No. 2 where Christopher Eubanks owns a 7-1 record, and in the bottom two positions. Four players have combined for a 7-1 record at No 5, while at the No. 6 position, four players have claimed an 8-0 mark.

In doubles, the Yellow Jackets have won six of eight points. Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura are 5-2 in the top position, while four different pairs have combined for a 6-1 record in the No. 3 spot.

Kennesaw State is 1-5 in dual matches, opening the year with a win over Georgia Southern before losses to Presbyterian, Mercer, South Carolina State, No. 71 Miami and Florida Atlantic. Simon Pritchard in the No. 1 singles slot owns a 4-2 record, the best mark in singles play for the Owls. Pritchard and Alejandro Valencia are 2-0 at the No. 3 double position.

Tech and Kennesaw State met last year for the first time, with the Owls claiming a 5-2 decision. Tech's points came from Arovin at No. 1 and Esteban at No. 2.