By Dylan Vazzano, Sports Information Coordinator
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team was tripped up in its first of three-straight in the Sunshine State, falling 6-1 to the University of Central Florida to kickoff the busy stretch.
Junior Marcos Bernardes, this week's OVC Male Tennis Athlete of the Week, secured TTU's lone point in the match with a 6-2, 6-4 straight-set victory over Enrique Paya in the No. 2 singles bout. The nod bumped the Brasilia, Brazil native to 3-2 in singles action this spring, while Bernardes also remained unbeaten in doubles play after his No. 2 clash with Guillermo Nicolas did not finish.
The Knights (5-1) did seize the doubles point with wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 tilts over Tech (3-2), as the tandem of Korey Lovett and Harrison Richmond topped Eduardo Mena and Alberto Esteban, 6-0, in the No. 1 spot, and the duo of Mariano Porter and Danny Kerznerman powered past Marc Mila and Jorge Alfonzo, 6-2, in the No. 3 slot.
Korey Lovett, the nation's No. 43 ranked player, unwrapped singles play with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Eduardo Mena in the No. 1 matchup to push the Knights edge to 2-0.
Chris Barrus followed suit with a 6-2, 6-0 nod over Marc Mila in the No. 4 spot, before the Knights officially clinched the match with a Harrison Richmond 6-4, 6-3 victory in the No. 3 position.
Bernardes captured a win in the No. 2 spot, before a pair of hard-fought singles bouts both swung UCF's way to put a lid on the day. The lone three-set singles affair came out of the No. 5 spot as Danny Kerznerman knocked off junior Jorge Alfonzo, despite an Alfonzo 7-5 win in the first set. Kerznerman bounced back with a 6-0 victory in set two and a 6-3 triumph in set three.
Carlos Tajes' No. 6 battle with Mariano Porter needed tie breakers in both sets, with Porter prevailing 7-6 (3) and 7-6 (4) in each case.
The Golden Eagles will be right back at it Saturday evening, hooking up with Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers. The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m. CT.
Photo by Jim Dillon
