By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team put together a solid finish to its fall season over the weekend, claiming its second consolation championship in as many weeks while competing at the Winthrop Invitational.
Head coach Kenny Doyle brought five Golden Eagles to Rock Hill, S.C., with each competing in singles play as well as four of them combining for two teams in double play.
Sophomore Alvaro Cintas was the star of the weekend for Tech, rebounding nicely from a first-round exit from the Division 3 Singles Main Draw to take home the Division 3 Singles Consolation Championship. Cintats started things off with a victory in a play-in match over host Winthrop's JD O'Brien, winning 6-4, 6-2.
The native of Spain played a tough match against Appalachian State's Rob Jenkins, but eventually fell, 7-6, 7-5. That's when Cintas got hot. In the first round of the consolation bracket, he dismissed Steven Weaver of Presbyterian College, 6-1, 6-0. After handing Jamey Bower of Wofford a quick 6-0, 6-0 loss, Cintas would triumph over another Wofford player, defeating Graham Duncan in a thrilling 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (7) match to claim the championship.
Oleksiy Arovin also saw some singles success at Winthrop, defeating his first round opponent, Haris Poric of Wofford, 1-6, 6-2, 1-0 (6). The Oklahoma State transfer eventually fell in the second round to Kennesaw State's Tobi Menhofer, 6-4, 6-4.
In doubles play, Vasily Eremeev and Arovin teammed together nicely, making it all the way to the semifinals of the Division 1 Doubles Main Draw. The Tech duo took down the Presbyterian team of Mills/Robersts, 8-5, in the first round, followed by an 8-5 dismissal of the Schultz/Norregaard duo of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Round 2. The Golden Eagle duo finally met a match they could not defeat, falling in the semis to Duke's Hammond/McCall, 6-3.
The Golden Eagle tennis team will return to action in the late winter and an updated schedule for the spring season will be made available in the coming weeks on TTUSports.com.
