Tech tennis heads to Starkville to battle No. 6 Mississippi State in first round of NCAA Tournament
The Tennessee Tech tennis team is back on the national stage as the Golden Eagles will make their return to the NCAA Tournament over the weekend.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team is back on the national stage as the Golden Eagles will make their return to the NCAA Tournament over the weekend.
Tech's sixth appearance in the last decade on college tennis' grandest level will see the Golden Eagles flock to Starkville for a first-round meeting at No. 6 Mississippi State on Friday. First serve from the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
Wisconsin and Samford will hit the courts in Friday's earlier first-round matchup. The winners of both contests will square off on Saturday for the right to go to the Sweet 16. Saturday's start time is also slated for 1 p.m.
A look at Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles (16-7) enter the NCAA Tournament surging thanks to a current nine-match winning streak. Tech's 16 overall victories are the most in a single-season since the 2008 version of the purple and gold posted an 18-5 mark.
Tech's first tourney appearance since 2022 comes on the heels of the programing capturing its 12th overall conference tournament crown after claiming the 2026 Horizon League men's tennis championships. After receiving a bye to the semifinals following a perfect 6-0 conference campaign, the purple and gold knocked off Belmont in the semis and took down Youngstown State in the championship match for TTU's first Horizon League title since joining the conference in 2023.
Murilo Burckhardt leads the Golden Eagles with 13 singles victories. Alex Alvarez and Diego Munoz each have a dozen solo nods. Alvarez reserved a place on the Horizon League first-team list, while Munoz was named the conference's Freshman of the Year. Davids Spaks secured a spot on the league's second team and first-year Tech head coach Mark Klysner was honored as the Horizon League Coach of the Year.
The doubles teams of Alvarez and Spaks as well as Munoz and Burckhardt each posted a club-best 11 tandem victories.
A look at No. 6 Mississippi State
The Bulldogs (22-5) are making their 15th-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and will be hosting the first and second rounds for the fourth-consecutive season. The program is having one of its best campaigns in school history with 22 total victories to tie the fifth-highest single-season mark in program history. The squad's 11 SEC wins are the most they have ever had.
The Bulldogs have one of the nation's most decorated players in Benito Sanchez Martinez. The Postdam, Germany native was recently awarded as the SEC Player of the Year. Sanchez Martinez also joined Petar Jovanovic as the pair of Bulldogs to take home First Team All-SEC honors, while Mario Martinez Serrano and Niccolo Baroni were recognized as second teamers in the league.
Sanchez Martinez and Raphael Vaksmann lead the team with identical 18-4 singles records. Martinez Serrano also possesses 18 solo victories thanks to an 18-7 account. Bryan Hernandez Cortes and Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes have teamed up for an 8-4 doubles record for the best mark on the club. The duo has done all of its damage out of the No. 3 position.
Inside the series
Mississippi State leads the all-time set, 9-1. The two teams last gathered on the courts on Feb. 2, 2025 in Starkville, where the Bulldogs notched a 4-0 nod.
Tech and Mississippi State also locked up in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, where the Bulldogs seized a 4-0 victory in Starkville.
Photo courtesy of Horizon League
