Posted: Sep 14, 2016
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech's Eduardo Mena made a splash last year as he put together a phenomenal season on the court.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association certainly paid notice, ranking Mena No. 93 on its Division I men's rankings on Tuesday, the only Ohio Valley Conference tennis player on the list that ranks the top 125 players in the country.
"I'm very excited about the ranking," Mena said. "As the season begins, I hope to show why I got ranked and try to get better. This is through the work my coaches and I have put in, as well as from the support of my teammates every day, which makes it a lot easier."
Tech head coach Kenny Doyle added, "We're excited for him and he's got a great opportunity this fall to build upon that ranking and produce some results and possibly be playing in the NCAA tournament again at the end of the year."
Mena set the Tech single-season wins record in 2015-16 with 33 victories, including a 20-1 dual record in the spring season – a loss to Wake Forest's nationally ranked Romain Bogaerts the only blemish.
Mena helped lead the Golden Eagles to their fourth straight OVC regular-season championship in five years as he went 9-0 in the conference in singles play and was named the league's Player of the Year. He was named Tech's Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year, sharing the honor with baseball's Kevin Strohschein.
Mena had a strong performance against the poll's top player, Mikael Torpegaard from Ohio State, at this spring's NCAA Championships. Mena captured the first set 7-6 (7-5), then took a 3-2 lead in the second set before the battle was called off as the Buckeyes clinched the match.
The poll released on Tuesday is the only poll in the fall. The next rankings will be released on Jan. 5.
Mena was also listed as a qualifying singles player for the 2016 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships at the University of Tulsa. Pre-qualifying matches begin on Oct. 1, while the main draw runs through Oct. 6-10.
Photo by Tony Marable