Golden Eagle tennis team rounds out action at Louisville Invitational with two wins
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team rounded out action at the Louisville Invitational Sunday afternoon, earning a pair of victories in singles play.
SUNDAY 10/21 RECAP
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team rounded out action at the Louisville Invitational Sunday afternoon, earning a pair of victories in singles play.
Competing in the Red Draw, freshman Carlos Vicente collected his second win in-a-row, defeating Xavier's Matt Graft in a one-set match (8-5). Also claiming a victory in the Red Draw was senior Wenceslao Albin. The veteran edged Louisville's Fredrik Moe in a single-set tilt (8-6).
Rounding out the Tech competitors in the Red Draw was junior Marc Mila. The Golden Eagle took on Middle Tennessee's Stijm Slump, falling in the winner-take-all set, (8-4).
Sophomore Gonzalo Garcia waged war with Ball State's Danilo Kovacevic in the championship bout of the B Singles Draw, a battle eventually won by the Cardinal freshman. Kovacevic just beat out Garcia in set one (7-6 (4)), but the Golden Eagle bounce back with a (6-3) win to set up a do-or-die set three.
It was Kovacevic that would come up victorious, however, defeating Garcia (6-2) in the final set.
In doubles play, the Golden Eagle pairing of Mila and Albin would come up just short against Xavier's Winters and Graft (8-6).
Next on the docket for the Tech tennis squad is the USA F29 Futures in Birmingham, Ala. beginning Saturday, Oct. 27.
Photo by Tony Marable
SATURDAY 10/20 RECAP
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Play continued at the Louisville Invitational Saturday afternoon, as the Tennessee Tech tennis team saw sophomore Gonzalo Garcia move to the finals of the B Singles draw.
After claiming two victories on Friday to set up a semifinal match-up against Ball State's Chris Adams, Garcia won a seesaw affair on Saturday to advance. Adams edged the Golden Eagle in the first set (6-4), but it was Garcia who would end up with the final smile.
He made quick work of his opponent in the second set (6-1), then held him off in a barn-burning third set, winning (7-5). The win creates a meeting with Ball State's Danilo Kovacevic in the final on Sunday.
Competing in the A Singles Consolation bracket semifinals, senior Wenceslao Albin fell to another Cardinal, Marko Guzina. The Ball State senior defeated Albin in straight sets (7-5, 6-4).
Taking part in the Red Draw, freshman Carlos Vicente earned a two-set victory over in-state rival Middle Tennessee's Stijn Slump. The Tech rookie worked back-to-back (7-6, 7-6) wins. Also in the Red Draw, Mark Mila fell to Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay's Christian Edison (6-3, 6-4).
In doubles action, the Golden Eagle duo of Garcia and Vicente took on Ball State's tandem of Bryce Bonin and Tom Carney. It was the Ball State team that would take the win (6-3). On the consolation side of the A Doubles Draw, Albin and Mila took down the Butler team of Briggs and Kelly (6-4) to set up a tilt with the Xavier pairing of Winters and Graft.
FRIDAY 10/19 RECAP
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Four members of the Tennessee Tech tennis team took to the north for the annual Louisville Invitational Friday, with sophomore Gonzalo Garcia leading the way.
The Barcelona, Spain native grabbed two victories in the B Singles draw of the event, advancing to the semifinals for a match-up against Ball State's Chris Adams. In the first round of the day, Garcia earned a relatively quick, two-set victory (6-0, 6-3).
He followed with a tough-fought, three-set win in the quarterfinals, working past Xavier's Matt Graft. In set one, Garcia swept his opponent, (6-0). Graft rebounded to defeat Garcia (6-4) in the second to force set three. Garcia turned it back around in the third, claiming victory with a (6-2) decision.
Junior Marc Mila claimed a victory in the first round as well, taking down Xavier's Jan Vrba (6-1, 6-3). Things were trending well for the Golden Eagle in the second round, as Mila edged Danilo Kovacevic from Ball State (7-6) in the first set. Kovacevic went on to win the next two sets, (6-1, 6-3) eliminating Mila from the B Singles draw.
In A Singles play, senior Wenceslao Albin recovered from a loss in the first round for a win in the consolation bracket. Middle Tennessee's Stijn Slump defeated Albin twice (6-2, 7-5) in the first round, creating a match-up for the Golden Eagle against Austin Peay's Alvin Edison.
Albin took down the Ohio Valley Conference rival in straight sets (7-5, 6-4) to move on to the semifinals of the consolation bracket for a meeting with Ball State's Marko Guzina.
Rounding out Tech's competitors in singles play was freshman Carlos Vicente. The rookie was upended in the first round of action by Ball State's Nemanja Guzina (6-4, 6-4), sending him to the consolation side of the A Singles draw. He faced off with Butler's Jake Briggs, falling in a grueling, three-set affair (2-6, 7-5, 11-9).
In doubles action, the combination of Albin and Mila took on the Ball State duo of the Guzina brothers in the A Doubles draw. The Cardinal tandem defeated the Golden Eagles, (8-1), sending Tech's group to a match-up with Butler's Briggs and Grant Kelly.
The Golden Eagle duo of Garcia and Vicente took down Campbell's Adrian Sabrojo and Will True in the first round, (8-4), advancing the two to a semifinals bout with Ball State's Bryce Bonin and Tom Carney.
