By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A match mixed with a great deal of intrigue is set for Saturday morning in Richmond, as the Tennessee Tech tennis team will square off with Eastern Kentucky in the final regular season road tilt of the year. First serve is slated for 11 a.m.
Tech (7-6, 2-0) and EKU (12-6, 1-0) have combined to win eight of the last nine conference regular season championships, and most recently met in last year's OVC Tournament championship match, a 4-3 Golden Eagle victory that sent TTU to the NCAA Tournament.
As far as this year is concerned, the pair of schools head into Saturday's matchup as two of the final four conference squads without a loss in league play. In fact, neither team has dropped as much as a point in their respective matchups, with the Golden Eagles knocking off Eastern Illinois and Austin Peay, 7-0, and the Colonels also downing EIU, 7-0.
At 11-2, No. 85 Eduardo Mena is Tech's leader in singles action, entering Saturday's affair on a seven-match heater. Senior Alberto Esteban is also on fire of late as the Barcelona, Spain native has won four-straight singles matches to bump his record to 5-7. Sophomore Guillermo Nicolas has won three in a row to move to 5-2, while juniors Jorge Alfonzo and Marcos Bernardes are tied for second on the Golden Eagles with six singles wins apiece.
Bernardes and Nicolas are Tech's top doubles performers with identical 6-3 records.
Before greeting the Golden Eagles, EKU will hook up with Jacksonville State for a Friday showdown with the Gamecocks, the start of a four-match home stand for the Colonels.
Senior Diego Asis is the club leader with a 10-3 singles mark this spring, doing most of his work at the bottom of the lineup with a 5-2 record out of the No. 5 spot and a 3-0 mark out of the No. 6 slot. Junior Ramon van Flymen has the most wins out of the No. 1 position with a 5-9 record, and was upended by Eduardo Mena in last year's OVC Tournament championship match, 6-1, 6-1.
TTU leads the all-time series, 51-20, including last year's championship match, as well as a 5-2 regular season victory in Cookeville.
Photo by Tony Marable
