By Dylan Vazzano, Sports Information Coordinator
ATHENS, Ga. – Eduardo Mena proved yet again that no stage is too grand and no lights are too bright for the two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, knocking off Baylor's Maxime Tchoutakian, 6-4, 7-6 (6), in the first round of the 2017 NCAA DI singles championships.
Mena's straight-set win over the 50th ranked player in the country will send him to Thursday's second round of the tournament, where the Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native will lock up with Stanford's Tom Fawcett from the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., at 10 a.m. Central. Fawcett, the nation's 11th ranked player in the latest ITA rankings, took down Georgia's Wayne Montgomery, 6-1, 7-5.
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Mena's opening round victory cements the 6-foot junior's place in history, becoming the first Golden Eagle ever to win a match in the NCAA DI singles championships. Borja Zarco received a bid into the exclusive field in 2008, but fell in three sets in his first round matchup with Auburn's Alexey Tsyrenov.
After Mena seized the first set against Tchoutakian, an All-Big 12 singles second team member, the second set proved to be a back and forth contest with a necessity for a tiebreaker, following a 6-6 deadlock. In the tiebreaker, Mena rallied late to capture the match, notching the final two points to send him to the second round.
Stanford's Tom Fawcett went 12-6 in singles action during the spring, holding a 9-6 mark against nationally ranked opponents.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
