By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team kicked off its two-match weekend set in stellar fashion Saturday afternoon, edging Radford, 4-3, at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
The Golden Eagles (3-3) took advantage of securing the doubles point, before notching victories in three of the top four singles spots over the Highlanders (0-3) to clinch the match. Sophomore Eduardo Mena remained perfect in singles action, moving to an impressive 6-0 behind a 6-3, 6-1 win over junior Janken Thoen in the top spot.
Mena mirrored his singles success with a victory in the No. 2 spot in doubles play, teaming up with fellow sophomore Marcos Bernardes to seize a 6-3 victory. Senior Alex Arovin and junior Alberto Esteban were responsible for the other TTU win in doubles play, earning a hard-fought, 7-5, decision over Thoen and Samuel Taylor in the No. 1 slot.
After collecting the doubles point, Tech was tripped up in two of the first three singles affairs, before rallying with wins in the No. 4 and No. 3 spots to seize the match.
With the overall match score deadlocked at 2-2, Bernardes bounced back in his tilt after falling 6-4 in the first set. The Brasilia, Brazil native came through with a 6-4 set win in the second and a 6-3 set victory in the third to slip past sophomore Jose Moreno Manzano in the No. 4 position. Freshman Guillermo Nicolas officially moved Tech to the finish line with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 nod over freshman Alexandros Caldwell in the No. 3 spot to push Nicolas' singles record to 5-1 this spring.
The Golden Eagles will wrap up their stay in Winston-Salem on Sunday, clashing with No. 7 Wake Forest at 4 p.m. CT.