By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's that time of year again.
Armed with three straight OVC Tournament titles, three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and six conference regular-season championships in the last eight years, the Tennessee Tech tennis team will hit the courts for the first time in 2019 with matches in three straight days in Des Moines, Iowa.
Kenny Doyle's bunch will unwrap the campaign with a battle at Drake University from the Roger Knapp Tennis Center on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. CT, before connecting with Northern Illinois Sunday at 2 p.m. and Illinois State Monday at 10 a.m.
The Golden Eagles march into the spring with a roster chock full of newcomers, many of which soared to success during the fall season. Freshman Rafael Tosetto helped headline the group with a club-best 11 singles wins during the fall, punctuated by a dominant showing in the ITA Men's All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. at the end of the September. The Jacareo, Brazil native won all four of his pre-qualifying matches, before winning a pair in the qualifying draw for six total wins in one of the fall's premier national tournaments.
Junior Fanis Kontopoulos, a transfer from North Carolina Central, compiled a sturdy fall resume that included a 9-5 singles mark, highlighted by four wins in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships in mid-October that pushed the Corinthos, Greece product to the consolation semifinals.
Freshman Carlos Vicente carded eight fall singles wins, while fellow rookies Lucca Silva and Elia Grubert rounded out Tech's autumn showing with six and four singles wins respectively.
From a returning perspective, the Golden Eagles bring back a pair of All-OVC performers in the form of senior Wenceslao Albin and junior Marc Mila. Primarily serving as Tech's No. 2 singles player from a season ago, Albin secured a 4-2 OVC singles record and a 5-0 conference doubles mark last spring. As far Mila is concerned, the Barcelona, Spain native also registered a 4-2 OVC singles record and went 3-1 in conference tandem action.
A look at Drake
Before squaring off with the Golden Eagles Saturday night, the host Bulldogs will take aim against Northern Illinois at 11 a.m. Saturday morning to open the 2019 campaign. One of three NCAA Tournament participants from a season ago on Tech's schedule, Drake is coming off a 19-14 year with an unblemished 6-0 mark in the Summit League. The Bulldogs return their top three singles performers from last spring. Senior Tom Hands is coming off a 20-10 campaign, while fellow seniors Ben Clark and Vinny Gillespie collected 19 and 16 singles nods respectively.
A look at Northern Illinois
The Huskies enter 2019 off of a 15-8 spring campaign last year, including a 5-2 MAC record. NIU ultimately bowed out in the MAC Tournament semifinals, falling to Buffalo in a thriller that was deadlocked at 3-3 before the Bulls emerged victorious. In the fall, the Huskies had three players with seven singles wins, highlighted by Shao-Yu Yu's 7-3 record. David Pata went 7-4 and Kristopher Ortega posted a 7-5 mark.
A look at Illinois State
Before tangling with Tech Monday morning, the Redbirds will square off with Drake Sunday evening in the season-opener. Illinois State compiled a 12-9 ledger last year, going 2-4 in the Summit League. The Redbirds return the Summit League Player of the Year in senior Igor Kolaric, who posted a team-best 15-5 singles record during the spring, including a 10-4 mark out of the top spot in the lineup.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
