By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's the most important time of the year and it's finally upon the Tennessee Tech tennis team, as the Golden Eagles unwrap Ohio Valley Conference action with a trip to Nashville over the weekend. Tech (4-5) will peel back the curtain on the OVC slate with a Friday matchup at Tennessee State at noon CT, before hooking up with Belmont Saturday at 10 a.m.
The Golden Eagles head into the conference play with high expectations, having captured three of the past four regular season titles and enter this year's OVC schedule tied with Eastern Kentucky as the preseason No. 1 team as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.
Furthermore, TTU posted three individuals in the preseason top ten rankings, highlighted by sophomore Eduardo Mena, who took home the top spot. The Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native has lived up to the billing this spring, posting an impressive 8-1 singles record with the lone loss coming to a nationally ranked opponent in Wake Forest's Romain Bogaerts (No. 113).
Mena has proven to be one of the key youthful pieces in seventh-year head coach Kenny Doyle's TTU puzzle. Fellow sophomore Marcos Bernardes has won back-to-back singles matches en route to a 3-2 singles mark, while freshman Guillermo Nicolas has tallied a 6-3 singles record in his rookie campaign.
Following a four-match losing streak, Tennessee State (6-6) has won two of its last three with nods over NCAA DII Rhodes and DII LeMoyne-Owen. Tigers' sophomore Grant Maddox has paced the club with an 8-4 singles record this spring.
Tech has never lost in the all-time series with TSU, owning a perfect 28-0 record. The Tigers were picked last in the preseason out of the 10-team conference after finishing 0-9 in OVC action in 2015.
Before hosting the Golden Eagles, Belmont (4-5) will square off with Jacksonville State Friday afternoon, the start of a four-match conference home stand for the Bruins. The club has dropped four consecutive tilts, including its last home appearance, a 5-2 loss to VCU on Mar. 9.
In singles play, junior Cedric Dujacquier and freshman Adam Rudowski each lead the Bruins' charge with a 5-3 record, while sophomore Stephen Goldman has racked up the best doubles record with a 5-3 mark as well.
Tech leads the all-time series with the Bruins, 13-8, including a narrow 4-3 edge in Cookeville last year. The league's 10 head coaches picked Belmont and Jacksonville State in a deadlock for third in the preseason rankings.
