Click here to view 2018 spring schedule
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The calendar may indicate that we're smack dab in the doldrums of winter, but for the Tennessee Tech tennis team, spring is on the mind.
Come the middle of January head coach Kenny Doyle's bunch will unwrap a 21-match regular season slate, signaling the start of another TTU spring campaign, a portion of the year that has been quite kind to the purple gold of late. The Golden Eagles jolt into 2018 with Ohio Valley Conference regular season championships in five of the last six years, to go along with back-to-back OVC Tournament titles and two-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
This year's four-month journey features action in nine different states, a trio of matches in Cookeville, seven bouts with in-state foes and a pair of meetings with NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago. The madness kicks off with a Jan. 15 meeting at the University of Tennessee, the first of seven-straight away from home to begin the season.
Following Tech's tilt with the Vols, the Golden Eagles will soar up north for three-consecutive affairs in Des Moines, Iowa. TTU will take on Drake, a NCAA Tournament participant from last year, on Jan. 19, before tangling with Northern Illinois on Jan. 20 and Western Michigan on Jan. 21. Tech will close out the month of January on the 27th with a contest against Abilene Christian in Kenlake, Ky.
Prior to TTU's first home match on Feb. 17 against Chattanooga, the Golden Eagles will scoot over to UNC Asheville on Feb, 4, before heading down I-40 to lock up with Lipscomb in Nashville on Feb. 10. Following a Feb. 18 meeting at ETSU, an NCAA Tournament team from last season, the Golden Eagles will flock down to Louisiana for three in a row to end the month of February.
Tech will square off at Louisiana on Feb. 23, prior to tangling with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 24 and East Carolina on Feb. 25. All three matches will take place in Lafayette, La.
After traveling to NAIA powerhouse Georgia Gwinnett on Mar. 6 and Winthrop on Mar. 9, TTU's first OVC contest is at Eastern Illinois on Mar. 17. Tech then returns home to battle Austin Peay on Mar. 23 and Eastern Kentucky on Mar. 31. The Golden Eagles will unwrap OVC play with 23-consecutive regular season wins against conference competition.
The final regular season match is at Belmont on Apr. 14, while the OVC Tournament is scheduled for Apr. 20-22 in Nashville.
Admission to all home matches at Tech Tennis Courts is free of charge.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information