KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Eduardo Mena has gone further at the USTA/ITA Regional Championships than any Tennessee Tech player before him. If the sophomore from Spain has his way, he’s not finished yet.
On Monday, Mena will play in the Knoxville Regional championship match, battling for the chance to join the nation’s elite players and advance to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships in New York City.
Mena, who has captured six straight matches at the regional event being hosted by the University of Tennessee, will face Sam Monette, a senior from Indiana University, Monday at approximately 11 a.m.
Monette, who joined the Hoosier tennis program after being ranked as the No. 1 singles player in Canada, must play earlier Monday morning in the doubles championship. Monette reached the final with a 6-2, 7-6 (7), straight set win over Alex Gornet from Louisville.
Mena put together a gutsy performance Sunday in his semi-final victory, outlasting Rob Medinilla from Purdue, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5).
Mena’s route to the championship round has included some impressive and hard-earned wins. He opened play Thursday morning with a 7-6 (6), 6-4 win over Chris Patzanonsky from Memphis. Thursday afternoon, he claimed a 6-2, 6-3, straight set win over fellow Spaniard Alex Alvaro from Eastern Kentucky.
Continuing his play against fellow countrymen, Mena met fourth-seeded David Biosca of East Tennessee Friday. Mena won handily, 6-4, 6-4, setting up a showdown against Vanderbilt junior Ryan Smith. After dropping the first set, Mena battled back to win the next two and advance into the quarterfinals with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
In the Saturday afternoon quarterfinal round, Mena faced another seeded opponent, and once again dropped the first set before fighting his way back. Facing Robert Herrera of East Tennessee State, Mena prevailed, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, to move into the semi-finals Sunday, where he defeated Medinilla.
Tech’s three other singles entries in the ITA Regionals each claimed at least one win before being eliminated.
Alberto Esteban claimed a 6-4, 6-3 win over Luke Saunders from Chattanooga, before falling to 11th seeded Kris Yee of Vanderbilt, 6-3, 6-4.
Alex Arovin, last year’s Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, opened Thursday with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Dayton’s Lorenzo Rollhauser. Rogerio Ribeiro of East Tennessee, the 14th seed, needed three sets by won the match, 6-4 3-6, 6-4.
Jorge Alfonzo fell to Louisville’s Gomet, 6-1, 6-2, in his opening match. Gomet went on to play in the semi-finals before losing to Monette. Alfonzo moved into the singles consolation bracket, where won a pair of matches. First, he topped Austin Peay’s Taylor Graalman, 6-2, 6-4, followed by a wolk-over win against Lipscomb’s Rob Mitchell. Matthew McCoy of Indiana, who went on to win the consolation title, ended Alfonzo’s run with a 6-2, 6-1 win.
In doubles action, Mena and Alfonzo bowed out with a first-round loss, while Arovin and Esteban claimed two wins before being eliminated.
Mena and Alfonzo suffered an 8-2 loss at the hands of the ninth-seeded Ball State duo of Lucas Andersen and Andrew Stutz, who are playing Monday in the doubles championship.
Arovin and Esteban defeated Yee and Vikram Chari of Vanderbilt, 8-7 (6) on Thursday. On Friday morning, they walked off with an 8-7 victory over Chris Essick and Stefan Lugonjic from Indiana. Their success was halted by eighth-seeded Ryan Peniston and Felix Rauch of Memphis, 8-1, Friday afternoon.
If Mena wins Monday, he would capture the region crown and advance to New York City, Nov. 12-15 to play in the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
