COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A two-week layoff did not affect the Tennessee Tech men’s tennis team on Friday as the Golden Eagles downed conference foe Austin Peay, 6-1, in front of a vibrant crowd at the Tech Tennis Courts.
The Golden Eagles improve to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the OVC, while Austin Peay drops to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the OVC.
The action began with Arturo Santa Ruiz and Oscar Pachon winning handily at No. 3 doubles, 8-4, before the matches at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles both went to tie-breakers.
Tech needed a win in one of the tie-breakers to secure the doubles point, and the Golden Eagles got just that as Alex Chen and Lloyd Harris won 7-2 in their breaker to put TTU ahead in the match, 1-0.
The Golden Eagles kept the momentum from their dramatic doubles victory going in singles play as Tech won five of the six matches en route to a 6-1 win.
Josh Girling (7-5, 6-2), Santa Ruiz (6-0, 6-2), Pachon (6-1, 6-0) and Harris (6-0, 6-1) all won in straight sets, while Chen (6-7, 6-4, 1-0) won following a 10-7 victory in a super tie-breaker to improve his No. 1 singles record to a team-best 5-2 this spring.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Sunday when they travel to Eastern Illinois for a match beginning at 1 p.m.