By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's time to dust off the rackets and maneuver west down I-40 for the Tennessee Tech tennis team as the Golden Eagles head to Nashville Saturday evening to christen the 2016 dual season. For the second consecutive year, Tech will open its dual campaign with Lipscomb, hooking up with the Bisons at 6 p.m. CT from inside Richland Country Club.
TTU has controlled the all-time series with Lipscomb, owning a 23-12 advantage with the Bisons, but were upended in last year's season opener to snap a Golden Eagle six-match win-streak in the all-time series, a span of victories that dated all the way back to 1988.
Tech had plenty of punch at the top of the lineup, capturing the top two singles matches behind nods from Alex Arovin and Alberto Esteban. The dynamic tandem also teamed up to secure the top doubles match with a 6-0 win over Alex Pavel and Philippe Courteau, one of two doubles tilts seized by Tech thanks to an Eduardo Mena/Alvaro Cintas victory in the No. 3 spot.
Despite the doubles success, the Golden Eagles would ultimately drop the contest after falling in the No. 3-6 singles matches.
Looking at this year, Tech brings back a wealth of experience highlighted by senior Alex Arovin, junior Alberto Esteban, and sophomore Eduardo Mena, all of whom took home Ohio Valley Conference hardware after pacing TTU to its third OVC regular season championship in the last four years.
Arovin, an OVC first-teamer, was also named the conference's Player of the Year behind an impressive 6-2 OVC record in the No. 1 singles spot and a perfect 7-0 conference mark in the No. 1 doubles spot, teaming up with Esteban, who was named a conference second-teamer.
Mena, also an OVC second-teamer, was recognized as the conference Freshman of the Year after rolling to a 15-5 overall singles record that included a 10-match win-streak in the Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native's rookie campaign. The 6-foot sophomore carried that success into the fall, topping Tech with a 13-4 singles record highlighted by a trip to the USTA/ITA Regional Championship Final in Knoxville back in late October, the furthest any Tennessee Tech player has ever reached in the event.
Mena was one of four Golden Eagles to post a winning singles record in the fall, joining junior Alberto Esteban (9-4), sophomore Carlos Tajes (6-5), and freshman Guillermo Nicolas (7-6).
Unlike Tech, Lipscomb has played a match this season, a 4-0 defeat at Vanderbilt on Jan. 16. The Bisons next scheduled affair, Jan. 22 against Murray State, was wiped out due to significant weather issues in Nashville.
Now in his seventh season at the helm, last year's Co-OVC Coach of the Year, Kenny Doyle, knows which eight players will be in action on Saturday, but has not determined how they will fit into the lineup. Eduardo Mena, Alex Arovin, Alberto Esteban, Guillermo Nicholas, Jorge Alfonso, Carlos Tajes, and Alvaro Cintas are all slated to suit up in the Tech purple and gold.