By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday afternoon proved to be déjà vu for the Tennessee Tech tennis team as the Golden Eagles notched their second straight 6-1 win in Nashville, knocking off Belmont to improve to 2-0 in OVC play. Tech (6-5) soared over TSU, 6-1, in Friday's conference opener, the first leg of TTU's perfect Nashville road swing.
The Golden Eagles couldn't have asked for a better beginning, taking a pair of doubles matches to clinch the doubles point and jump out to a 1-0 edge over the Bruins (4-7, 0-2). Sophomore Eduardo Mena and junior Alberto Esteban secured a 6-4 win in the No. 1 spot, while the youthful tandem of sophomore Marcos Bernardes and freshman Guillermo Nicolas did the same with a 6-4 nod in the No. 3 slot.
Tech carried the momentum into singles action, posting victories in five of the six matches en route to its third 6-1 win in the last four matches after powering past USC Upstate on Mar. 10 and Tennessee State on Friday.
Eduardo Mena moved to an impressive 10-1 in singles play this spring, bouncing back after a first set loss to junior Cedric Dujacquier on the featured court. After falling 6-3 in the initial set, Mena did not drop a game over the next two sets as the Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native registered a pair of 6-0 set victories to capture the match.
Fellow sophomore Carlos Tajes accomplished a similar feat in the No. 6 spot after being downed 6-1 in the first set by junior Bruno Russo. Tajes responded with a 6-2 victory in the second set, before the Murcia, Spain native tabbed a 6-1 win in the deciding set to seize the match.
Sophomore Jorge Alfonzo needed three sets as well after splitting the first two with sophomore Stephen Goldman, however behind a 6-2 nod in the deciding set, Alfonzo notched a victory in the No. 5 position, his second straight to begin the OVC slate.
It took only two sets for sophomore Marcos Bernardes and freshman Guillermo Nicolas, with Bernardes earning a 6-2, 6-1 victory in the No. 4 spot, and Nicolas powering through with a 6-2, 6-2 win in the No. 3 slot.
At 2-0 in the OVC, TTU will dip out of conference for the final time this season as the Golden Eagles will travel to Louisville on Thursday, Mar. 24. The match is slated to get underway at 6 p.m. CT.
