Tech tennis takes on Arkansas Friday in Knoxville; heads to Austin Peay Sunday
A weekend of navigating across the Volunteer state is on tap for the Tennessee Tech tennis team.
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A weekend of navigating across the Volunteer state is on tap for the Tennessee Tech tennis team. The Golden Eagles will first head to Knoxville to tangle with Arkansas in a neutral-site meeting Friday at 4 p.m. CT, before the purple and gold will jump back into OVC play with a Sunday affair at Austin Peay, beginning at noon.
Friday's get-together with the Razorbacks, the final in TTU's non-conference slate, is scheduled to take place at the Goodfriend Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee.
Tech (5-12, 1-1 OVC) is coming off its most impressive win of the season with a 7-0 nod over Eastern Illinois on Mar. 30 in Cookeville. The victory snapped a four-match slide for the Golden Eagles and moved TTU to an eye-popping 33-2 record in the club's last 35 contests at Tech Tennis Court.
The Golden Eagles did not drop a singles set in their battle with the Panthers, securing all six singles clashes with relative ease. Rafael Tosetto, Carlos Vicente, Gonzalo Garcia, Wenceslao Albin, Lucca Silva and Fanis Kontopolous all registered wins to help push the purple and gold to its first OVC victory of the year.
Kontopolous' triumph marked the first this spring for the former MEAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year.
Albin leads the team with eight singles wins, with a bulk of the damage coming out of the No. 5 spot, where the senior out of Salliquelo, Argentina is 5-1 in that position. Garcia is second on the club with seven singles nods, going 3-0 out of the No. 6 slot, while Tosetto has claimed six wins, all out of the top spot.
Albin sports a club-best 9-4 doubles record this spring, while Tosetto and Carlos Vicente both have eight tandem wins apiece.
A look at Arkansas
Similar to TTU, the Razorbacks (12-11, 2-6 SEC) are also fresh off a 7-0 win that snapped a four-match slide, shutting out Arkansas Pine Bluff on Saturday. Arkansas did not drop a set during singles play and fell in only four games total.
Four Razorbacks have posted double-digit singles wins this spring, paced by Enrique Paya's 11-10 ledger. Pedro Alonso is 10-6 this season with a 5-2 mark out of the No. 4 spot, while Josh Howard-Tripp has gone 10-9 this year behind a 3-2 record in the No. 1 position, a 4-3 mark out of the No. 2 spot and a 3-4 showing in the No. 3 slot. Oscar Mesquida has most frequented the top spot in the Razorback lineup with an 8-9 record in that position.
Mesquida and Adam Sanjurjo have spent the most time as the No. 1 doubles tandem for Arkansas, teaming up to go 8-7 out of that slot.
Friday's meeting in Knoxville will mark this first in the all-time series between the two squads.
A look at Austin Peay
The Governors (5-12, 1-1) have split their first two OVC clashes with a 7-0 victory over Tennessee State on Mar. 23 in Clarksville and a narrow 4-3 loss at Jacksonville State on Mar. 29. APSU's battle with the Gamecocks did feature seizing the point in doubles play, but with only two triumphs in singles action, the Govs were unable to reach the finish line. Almantas Ozelis and Timo Kiesslich were responsible for pair of singles points in the tight-knit affair.
Ozelis has been the No. 1 singles competitor all season long for Austin Peay, posting a 9-7 record out of that spot and is the only player to appear in the top position. Christian Edison has proven to be the No. 2 player for the Govs with a 3-7 record in that spot, while Anton Damberg has appeared the most time in the No. 3 slot with an identical 3-7 mark.
The No. 4 position has been shared by Damberg, Kiesslich and Jacob Lorino, while Lorino has also made the most appearances in the No. 5 spot, going 3-7. Hunter Sanders has played a club-leading 11 times in the No. 6 post, registering a 5-6 mark.
Tech leads the all-time series 44-25 with the Govs, capturing seven of the last eight meetings in the set.
Photo by Tony Marable
