Tech tennis hosts Belmont on Friday, travels to TSU on Saturday
The Tennessee Tech tennis team is ready for a pair of pivotal Horizon League contests as the Golden Eagles host Belmont on Friday before traveling to Tennessee State on Saturday.
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team is ready for a pair of pivotal Horizon League contests as the Golden Eagles host Belmont on Friday before traveling to Tennessee State on Saturday. Tech's home contest on Friday is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. CT, while Saturday's showdown in Nashville is set to begin at 2 p.m.
The first 50 people in attendance for Friday's match against Belmont will receive a free Golden Eagle t-shirt. Admission to Tech Tennis Courts is free of charge.
A look at Tennessee Tech
The only team in the Horizon League South Division that is off to a 2-0 conference start, the Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 6-1 win at Southern Indiana on Mar. 24 and a 5-2 victory over TSU on Mar. 29 to account for the pair of nods.
Tech (9-7, 2-0 HL) is coming off a 6-1 win over Cumberland in Tuesday's non-conference home finale. The Golden Eagles have won five of their last six matches.
Tuesday's triumph over the Phoenix saw the purple and gold claim the doubles point before Oliver Dao, Diego Munoz, Murilo Burckhardt, Ricard Garavi Yepez and Christian Cappuccini all recorded singles wins. Alex Alvarez still leads the team with seven solo nods, while Munoz, Burckhardt, Garavi Yepez and Davids Spaks have six victories. Garavi Yepez has won a team-best six straight singles clashes.
As far as doubles play, the tandems of Alvarez and Spaks as well as Burckhardt and Munoz each led the club with eight wins apiece.
A look at Belmont
The preseason Horizon League South Division No. 1, Belmont, will come to Cookeville after falling in their last match with a 7-0 defeat at Memphis on Mar. 29. The Bruins (7-9, 1-1 HL) have split their first two conference contests with a 4-3 loss at Tennessee State on Mar. 21 and a 5-2 home win over Southern Indiana on Mar. 26.
Sabi Roi and Morgan Woodson sit atop the Belmont leaderboard with seven singles victories apiece. Roi has appeared in each of the first three spots in the singles lineup where the Lyon, France native has gone 3-5 in the No. 1 spot, 1-2 in the No. 2 position and 3-2 in the No. 3 slot. Woodson has also played in three positions and has recorded a 1-2 record in No. 3, a 5-5 mark in No. 4 and a 1-1 account in No. 6.
Will Ecklund and Charlie Robin hold the squad's top doubles mark behind a 9-2 record this spring, all out of the No. 2 slot in the lineup.
A look at Tennessee State
Like Belmont, the Tigers (2-13, 1-1 HL) have also split their first two Horizon League matches, thanks to a 4-3 win over the Bruins on Mar. 21 and a 5-2 loss to Tech in Cookeville on Mar. 29. TSU will be at Southern Indiana on Friday before hosting the Golden Eagles on Saturday.
In Tech's win over the Tigers in Cookeville, TSU did seize the doubles point before the Golden Eagles soared in singles play with five solo victories. Taj Hibbert earned the only singles win for State with a victory in No. 1. Alex Alvarez, Davids Spaks, Diego Munoz, Murilo Burckhardt and Ricard Garavi Yepez all notched nods in Tech's 5-2 triumph.
Inside the series
The Golden Eagles hold a 19-18 edge in the series over Belmont, but the Bruins have bested Tech in six straight contests. The Golden Eagles were tripped up in last year's regular-season finale with a 4-3 loss in Cookeville.
Tech's 5-2 win over TSU on Mar. 29 moved the Golden Eagles to a 38-2 all-time record against Tennessee State. The Tigers had won the last two matches in the series before the purple and gold's recent victory.
Photo: Jim Dillon
