COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech tennis team has been on the practice courts for the past 10 days since their last contest, and Friday night will return to action with a dual match against Lipscomb. The contest will be held at the Richland Country Club, beginning at 7 p.m.

Lipscomb comes into the match with a 1-4 record, and will be playing in the Richland facility for the fourth time this year. The Bisons defeated North Alabama (6-1), and have lost at Richland to Austin Peay (6-1) and Marquette (5-2). Last Saturday in Morehead, Ky., Lipscomb fell to another OVC foe, dropping a 5-2 match to the MSU Eagles.

The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, look for their first dual match victory after dropping a tough, 4-3 decision to Georgia State in the Peachtree City Indoor Tenis Center. In that contest, coach Kenny Doyles' team got wins from Oleksiy Arovin at No. 1 singles, Alberto Esteban at No. 2, and Alvaro Cintas at No. 4 singles. Arovin has the top record on the team in dual match play at 4-2 in the top spot on the ladder.

The rivalry with Lipscomb dates all the way back to 1951, with the two teams meeting nearly every year between 1978 and 1989. However, the two have met just twice since 1989, with the Golden Eagles winning both times (2008 and 2010) to improve to 22-11 all-time in the series. In fact, Tech has won five in a row over the Bisons.

Beginning with the Lipscomb match Friday, the Golden Eagles have three non-conference matches remaining before beginning defense of their back-to-bacl OVC regular season championships.