Tech tennis gears up for busy weekend with Friday match at Middle Tennessee, Sunday meeting at Alabama
A busy season-opening road swing rolls on for the Tennessee Tech tennis team as the Golden Eagles prepare for a pair of weekend matches in the spring’s first week of action.
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A busy season-opening road swing rolls on for the Tennessee Tech tennis team as the Golden Eagles prepare for a pair of weekend matches in the spring's first week of action. Tech will first take the trip to Murfreesboro for a Friday evening match at Middle Tennessee before the purple and gold wrap up the weekend with a Sunday afternoon get-together at Alabama. Friday's first serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT, while Sunday's contest is set to get underway at 4 p.m.
Live video will be available for both matches. Click here to watch Friday. Click here to watch Sunday. Live stats will also be available for Sunday's match. Click here to view.
A look at Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles (0-1) enter the weekend following a 7-0 defeat at Vanderbilt in Wednesday's spring opener. Despite the loss, the Tech tandem of Murilo Burckhardt and Linus Rohlin secured a doubles victory against the nation's 42nd ranked team in Danil Panarin and Jack Satterfield.
Rohlin was one of three Golden Eagles to make their Tech debut, joining fellow freshmen Diego Munoz and Christian Capuccini who each appeared in singles action. Oliver Dao, Alex Alvarez and Davids Spaks joined Burckhardt as returning Golden Eagles who hit the courts during singles play in Wednesday's match at Vandy.
The contest with the Commodores as well as Sunday's match at Alabama are two of the three regular-season meetings Tech will have against "Power 4" competition. TTU will also head to Georgia Tech on Feb. 6.
The Golden Eagles were recently picked to finish in second in the South Division in the Horizon League Men's Tennis Preseason Poll. Belmont secured the top spot in the south, while Cleveland State was chosen to take the North Division.
A look at Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders will host Tech following a Friday afternoon match against Lipscomb in the club's season opener. The pair of Tennessee schools are among seven MTSU will clash with in 2026, with future contests against Belmont, Vanderbilt, Austin Peay, Tennessee State and Memphis all on the schedule.
The Blue Raiders are coming off a successful 2025 which saw the team capture the Conference USA Championship with tourney wins over Kennesaw State and Liberty. Middle earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament where they were upended by Duke in the opening round.
MTSU returns two of its top three singles win totals from a season ago with Ondrej Horak and Karim Al-Amin both back in the fold for 2026. Horak earned 15 solo nods, while Al-Amin notched 13 singles victories last year.
A look at Alabama
Similar to Middle Tennessee, the Crimson Tide have also not played a match this spring, but will host Furman earlier on Sunday before greeting the Golden Eagles. Alabama is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025 where they were tripped up by Pepperdine in the opening round. The Tide tallied a 15-13 overall record last season.
With a new look roster for Alabama in 2026, the Crimson Tide were picked to finish 15th in the SEC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Rankings.
Inside the series
MTSU has the upper hand in the all-time series with a 51-25 advantage in the set. The Blue Raiders have claimed nine in a row, including a 7-0 victory on Mar. 10, 2024 in Murfreesboro in the last meeting in the series.
Sunday's gathering will mark the ninth get-together in the all-time series. The Tide holds a 7-1 edge in the set, including a 7-0 win on Feb. 3, 2024 in Tuscaloosa in the last matchup.
Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt Athletics
