Golden Eagle tennis back in action with two-match weekend road swing in Atlanta
Following a near three-week layoff, the Tennessee Tech tennis team is set to make its return to the courts with a pair of weekend matches down in Atlanta.
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Following a near three-week layoff, the Tennessee Tech tennis team is set to make its return to the courts with a pair of weekend matches down in Atlanta. The Golden Eagles will be at Georgia Tech for a Friday afternoon get-together with the Yellow Jackets before concluding the Peach State swing with a Saturday morning meeting at Georgia State. Friday's match is slated to start at 3 p.m. CT, while Saturday is set to begin at 11 a.m. CT.
Live video is available for Friday's match. Click here to watch. Live stats are also available. Click here to view. Live stats for Saturday's match are also available. Click here to view.
A look at Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles (0-3) will hit the courts for the first time since Jan. 18 after Tech's originally scheduled home opener on Jan. 31 was postponed due to inclement weather. The Golden Eagles are in search of their first win of the spring following a rigorous early-season slate that has featured contests at Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee and Alabama.
Friday's match at Georgia Tech will mark the third "Power 4" opponent over the first four affairs for the purple and gold.
The Golden Eagles head into the weekend after learning that its top doubles tandem of Alex Alvarez and Davids Spaks became nationally ranked on Wednesday. The Tech tandem took home the No. 48 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. The pair was one of only 10 non-"Power 4" teams to crack the Top 50 and the duo was the only Horizon League doubles team to earn a national ranking.
Alvarez and Spaks knocked off the then 12th-ranked tandem in the country with a 6-3 victory over Alabama's Andri Zimnokh and Jacob Olar in Tech's last match on Jan. 18.
The Golden Eagles were picked to finish in second in the South Division in the Horizon League Men's Tennis Preseason Poll. Belmont took home the top spot in the south, while Cleveland State was chosen to win the North Division.
A look at Georgia Tech
Before hosting the Golden Eagles Friday afternoon, the Yellow Jackets will welcome Charlotte to town for a Friday morning meeting in Atlanta. Georgia Tech (3-1) has won three matches in a row thanks to triumphs over Liberty, Wofford and Georgia Southern. The club's lone loss was a 4-0 defeat to Georgia in the season opener.
Three Jackets enter the weekend with a team-leading three singles victories this spring. Jonathan Irwanto and Elias Shokry are both a perfect 3-0, while Hidde Schoenmakers is 3-1 on the season. Schoenmakers and Richard Biagiotti have also teamed up to form Georgia Tech's top doubles partnership with a team-leading 2-1 mark this spring.
A look at Georgia State
The Panthers (2-2) host Tech on the heels of back-to-back losses with a 4-1 defeat at Stetson on Jan. 25 and a 5-0 loss at North Florida on Jan. 24. The club's two triumphs this year were a doubleheader sweep over Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on the season opener on Jan. 16.
Arthur Attrill leads the Panthers with three solo nods this spring. Aleksandar Andrin and Gustav Andersson have each tallied two singles wins over the first four matches.
Inside the series
Georgia Tech leads the all-time set 2-0 with victories in 2009 and 2015. Georgia State holds a 10-3 edge in the series. The Panthers took the last gathering with a 6-1 victory on Apr. 10, 2022 in Atlanta.
Photo courtesy of Alabama Athletics
