By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team flexed its home dominance Friday afternoon, powering its way to a 6-1 victory over Morehead State to remain undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Golden Eagles (8-6, 4-0) have now won all three of its home matches in 2016, outscoring their opponents 18-3 in the trio of contests, and move to 28-3 in the last 31 tilts in Cookeville.
In a matchup that pitted the last two undefeated teams in the OVC, Tech rose to the occasion with an overwhelming performance en route to handing the Eagles (5-8, 4-1) their first conference loss of the spring. TTU has now won 12-straight conference regular season matches dating back to last year.
The Golden Eagles spread their wings from the get go, rolling off a pair of doubles victories on the way to seizing the doubles point to take a 1-0 edge in the match. The sophomore tandem of Eduardo Mena and Marcos Bernardes registered a 6-4 victory over sophomore Sabastian Penaloza and freshman Ognjen Sunjevaric in the No. 2 spot, and the Tech duo of Jorge Alfonzo and Guillermo Nicolas marched their way to a 6-1 win against seniors Nick Mercer and Enrique Samudio out of the No. 3 slot.
The top doubles tilt featuring TTU's Alex Arovin and Alberto Esteban against MSU's Gabriel Ruiz and Ritchie Kruunenberg did not finish.
The Golden Eagles carried the doubles momentum into singles play with nods in five of the six affairs. In four of the six matches, Tech needed just two sets on the way to triumph, highlighted by yet another Eduardo Mena victory out of the No. 1 spot. The Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ritchie Kruunenberg to move to an eye-popping 13-1 singles record this spring.
Junior Alberto Esteban needed only two sets to pick up a 6-0, 6-2 nod over Gabriel Ruiz in the No. 2 spot, as was the same for freshman Guillermo Nicolas thanks to a 6-2, 7-5 win against Enrique Samudio in the No. 3 slot. Nicolas joins Mena with a perfect 4-0 conference record in singles action.
Sophomore Jorge Alfonzo rounded out the quartet of two-set Tech wins in singles play with an unblemished 6-0, 6-0 victory over Ognjen Sunjevaric in the No. 6 position.
Marcos Bernardes needed three sets, but ultimately punched in a winning ticket with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Nick Mercer in the No. 4 spot. Morehead's Sabastian Penaloza prevailed, 6-4, 4-6, 10-5, over sophomore Carlos Tajes in the No. 5 slot for the lone Eagles win in singles play.
First place will be on the line Saturday afternoon at Tech Tennis Courts as the Golden Eagles host Eastern Kentucky at 1 p.m. CT. With a victory over Jacksonville State Friday afternoon, the Colonels moved to 4-1 in the OVC. EKU and TTU were named as the co-preseason No. 1 ranked teams after the two squads finished last year as co-regular season champions.
Admission to Saturday's match is free of charge.
