By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team is set to open a three-match home stand over the weekend, hosting Jacksonville State for the squad's first Cookeville action in nearly a month. Originally scheduled for a Thursday afternoon get together, inclement weather has pushed the match back to Saturday, with first serve slated for noon CT.
The meeting with the Gamecocks (9-6, 2-1) will act as the opener of three-straight at home that will carry the Golden Eagles to the end of the regular season. TTU (8-6, 3-0) will welcome Tennessee State on Apr. 14, before greeting Belmont to Tech Tennis Courts on Apr. 15.
The Golden Eagles come into Saturday's tilt on a heater that has seen Tech roll through its early OVC slate with three-straight 7-0 wins. In its only home match of the spring, TTU downed Eastern Illinois, 7-0, on Mar. 18, before taking its show on the road with back-to-back 7-0 nods at Austin Peay (Mar. 24) and Eastern Kentucky (Apr. 1).
Four different Golden Eagles are a perfect 3-0 in conference singles action, paced by junior Eduardo Mena who has put together a 12-2 overall mark this season. The Bultrago del Lozoya's recent run of eight-straight victories has catapulted him to the No. 56 spot in the Oracle/ITA Division I National Rankings, his highest ranking all year.
Alberto Esteban, Marcos Bernardes and Marc Mila join Mena with an unblemished 3-0 conference record, while Guillermo Nicolas comes in at 2-0 with an overall 6-2 singles spring mark behind four consecutive wins. Esteban has currently won five in a row for TTU's second longest active win-streak, and the combination of Bernardes and junior Jorge Alfonzo are second on the team with seven victories.
Bernardes has also compiled Tech's best doubles mark with a 7-3 record this season, and Nicolas isn't too shabby in his own right, going 6-3 in tandem play.
Jacksonville State comes to Cookeville having won three of four, joining Eastern Kentucky as the only other 2-1 team in the conference. Freshman Pablo Caffarena is the club-leader with eight singles wins, doing the bulk of his work at the top of the lineup with a 2-0 mark in the No. 1 spot and a 6-3 showing in the No. 2 slot.
Senior Mathais Chaim is 7-2 during the spring in singles play, performing well at the back of the lineup with a 4-0 record in the No. 5 position and a 2-1 mark out of the No. 6 slot. The Pablo Caffarena and Paolo Cucalon doubles team has proven to be the best combination for the Gamecocks this season, going 6-2 this spring.
The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 12-5, having won three-straight that includes a pair of wins last year. Tech took down JSU, 5-2, in Jacksonville, before securing a 4-2 nod in the OVC Tournament semifinals in Nashville.
Admission to Saturday's match at Tech Tennis Courts is free of charge.
Photo by Tony Marable
