Tech tennis champions again after Golden Eagles down Youngstown State in thrilling Horizon League Tournament finale
MASON, Ohio – The Tennessee Tech tennis team is back on top.
MASON, Ohio – The Tennessee Tech tennis team is back on top.
In a battle that went down to the wire, the Golden Eagles rose to the occasion and took home the Horizon League Tournament title with a 4-2 win over Youngstown State in the championship match.
The purple and gold claim the program's 12th overall tournament crown, and first since 2022. Tech tennis has now captured six conference tourney titles over the last decade.
The Golden Eagles (16-7) also officially punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament and will enter the big dance on a nine-match winning streak.
Sunday's showdown of the No. 1 seeds from both the Horizon League's North and South Divisions began with Tech securing the doubles point. Diego Munoz and Murilo Burckhardt picked up a 6-3 victory over Oscar Gippet and Haita Mihai in the No. 3 position before Christian Capuccini and Linus Rohlin notched a 7-5 nod against Matteo Ceradelli and Dominik Vonbank in the No. 2 spot to register the tandem point.
The No. 1 battle featuring Alex Alvarez and Davids Spaks against Alex Maulouet and Rafael Le Fur did not finish with Maulouet and Le Fur leading 6-5 at the time it was called.
Singles play featured just two straight-set outcomes, both seized by the purple and gold. Murilo Burckhardt picked up Tech's first solo point with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Rafael Le Fur in the No. 4 meeting before Alex Alvarez bumped TTU's lead to 3-0 behind a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory against Alexis Malouet in the top tangle.
The Penguins (16-6) responded with two straight singles wins of their own to get on the board behind triumphs in No. 5 and No. 6. Malo Vernejoul first topped Linus Rohlin with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 decision in the No. 6 get-together, which was promptly followed by an Oscar Gippet 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Ricard Garavi Yepez in the No. 5 tussle to shrink Tech's lead to 3-2.
The Golden Eagles then officially claimed the championship thanks to a Diego Munoz 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Dominik Vonbank in the No. 4 gathering.
The celebration was on.
The No. 2 matchup pitting Davids Spaks and Matteo Ceradelli did not finish after the two exchanged the first two sets. Ceradelli took home a 6-3 win in the opening set before Spaks responded with a 6-0 win in the second. Ceradelli led 4-3 in the third before the action was halted.
Tech will find out its draw in the NCAA Tournament during Monday's selection show.
