COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team gets the 2015 dual match season underway this weekend, facing Lispcomb on Saturday and Middle Tennessee State Sunday in a couple of indoor matches in the Music City.
On Saturday, the Golden Eagles open the season with a 6 p.m. contest against the Bisons at Richland Country Club, where Tech claimed a tough, 4-3 victory a year ago over Lipscomb. This time around, Lipscomb will be playing in its seventh match of the season while the Golden Eagles are still trying to hammer out their lineup.
Sunday's match with MTSU is also putting an upstart Tech lineup against a squad with some experience already under its belt. MTSU has played a couple of matches in mid-January, and will have played two more by the time they step onto the courts at the Nashboro Village Athletic Club. MTSU has a pair of matches on the schedule Saturday.
"There's no question we'll need to be ready to play right from the start," said seventh-year TTU head coach Kenny Doyle. "These two teams will have played several matches by the time we play them, and we are still working through how our lineup will shape up."
Doyle knows which eight players will be in action this weekend, but has not determined how they will fit into the lineup. The group will be led by junior Alex Arovin and sophomore Alberto Esteban, who were both named first-team all-OVC a year ago. Also returning to the lineup will be Alvaro Cintas, Othon Lima and Gagan Jain. Newcomers seeing action will be Carlos Tejas, Eduardo Mena and Jorge Alfonso.
Tennessee Tech vs. Lipscomb
Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015
6 p.m. CST
Richland Country Club Indoor Tennis Center – Nashville, Tenn.
Tennessee Tech vs. Middle Tennessee
Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015
12 p.m. CST
Nashboro Village Athletic Club – Nashville, Tenn
SETTING THE STAGE
Lipscomb is on a roll, winning three straight and bringing a 4-2 record into Saturday's meting with the Golden Eagles. The Bisons are also seeking payback from a tough, 4-3 loss to the Golden Eagles a year ago on the indoor courts at Richland Country Club. In that contest, the Bisons defaulted at the No. 3 doubles spot and No. 6 singles.
Arovin and Esteban claimed a win in the No. 1 doubles position, while Artem Tarasov and Vasily Eremeev won the No. 2 point, giving Doyle's team a 1-0 lead in the match.
In singles action, Arovin won at No. 1, while Jain put up a "W" at the No. 5 spot. Those wins, coupled with the default point at No. 6 gave the match to the visitors.
This year's encounter promises to be a real close contest, with Lipscomb posting wins over Dayton (4-3), Abeline Christian (7-0) and Belmont (7-0) in the last three matches.
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 three since 1989, with the Golden Eagles winning all three times (2008, 2010 and 2014) to improve to 23-11 all-time in the series. In fact, Tech has won six in a row over the Bisons.
Sunday's meeting with MTSU marks the 73rd time the Golden Eagles will take on the Blue Raiders on the tennis court, with Middle Tennessee owning a 47-25 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1949. Tech's dominance in the series came early, with the Golden Eagles winning 14 of the first 17 matches. MTSU had been in control since 1991, winning 17 of the last 18. Tech's last win over Middle Tennessee came in the 1999 season.
The Blue Raiders hosted a pair of matches Friday before inviting the Golden Eagles onto their home courts Sunday. MTSU lost a 7-0 match to No. 31 North Carolina State in the afternoon, then swept a 7-0 victory over Jackson State in the evening. That split left MTSU with a 3-1 overall record in 2015, including earlier wins over Chattanooga and Murray State.
LIVE STATS will be available for Sunday's match against MTSU.
