By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The type of drama you read about unfolded Thursday evening at Bass-Rudd Tennis Center, but when the dust finally settled, Louisville squeaked out a 4-3 victory over the Tennessee Tech tennis team in TTU's final non-conference match of the season.
All squared away at 3-3, the attention theatrically shifted to the No. 2 tilt, pinning Tech (6-6) senior Alex Arovin against Cardinal (11-11) freshman George Hedley in the match's final battle. Experience reigned supreme in the first set with an Arovin 6-4 nod, yet youth struck back with a Hedley 7-6 triumph in the second set to square the singles' finale up at 1-1.
With all eyes suffocating the concluding set, the club from the ACC found a way, albeit by the skin of its teeth, to slip past a red-hot Tech squad as Hedley dropped the curtain with a 7-6 win.
Hedley's fait accompli wiped away a heroic comeback for the 12 cast in purple and gold after Tech rallied from a 3-1 deficit to set up the climatic ending. Needing a win to stay alive, sophomore Marcos Bernardes did just that with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over freshman Carlos Longhi Neto out of the No. 5 spot to pull Tech within one.
Freshman Guillermo Nicolas squared up the match with a riveting comeback of his own that saw the Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native bounce back after falling 6-0 in set one. Cool, calm and collected, Nicolas immediately responded with a 6-1 set two victory, before punctuating the 5-foot-9 rookie's resurgence with a 6-4 win against freshman Brandon Lancaster out of the No. 4 spot to deadlock the match at 3-3.
Sophomore Eduardo Mena was his usually stellar self, kicking off singles action with a 7-6, 6-2 win over freshman Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff in the No. 1 slot to improve to 11-1 in singles play this spring. The triumph also knotted the match at 1-1 after Louisville unwrapped the affair by capturing the doubles point with wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots.
The sophomore tandem of Eduardo Mena and Marcos Bernardes was responsible for Tech's lone win with a 6-4 nod out of the No. 2 slot.
Louisville registered singles wins in the No. 3 position with a Jeffrey Brown 6-4, 6-4 victory against junior Alberto Esteban, and in the No. 6 slot, behind a Sean Donohue 6-4, 6-3 decision over sophomore Jorge Alfonzo.
The Golden Eagles will jump back into their OVC slate with a Saturday affair at Jacksonville State, searching for a perfect 3-0 start after Tech began its conference campaign with a pair of 6-1 victories over Tennessee State and Belmont last weekend. Saturday's match is set to begin at 10 a.m. CT.
