By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Tennessee Tech tennis team saved its best for last during the club's three-day stay in Des Moines. Behind two wins in doubles play, and three victories during singles action, the Golden Eagles collected their first win of the season with a 4-0 nod over Illinois State to conclude Tech's season-opening trip to Iowa.
The Golden Eagles (1-2) jumped out to a quick beginning with a victory in doubles play, using wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 bouts to race out to the 1-0 start in the match. The TTU freshmen tandem of Carlos Vicente and Elias Grubert seized a 6-4 win in the top spot over Igor Kolaric and Jorge Adair Bartra Quispe, while the Golden Eagle duo of Marc Mila and Rafael Tosetto soared to a 6-2 nod over Aleksa Lazarevic and Zacharias Rankloo Rasmusson in the No. 3 clash.
The No. 2 battle pitting Riku Kubota and Wenceslao Albin and Egehan Sertkaya and Diego Le Gal Perez did not finish.
In singles play, three Golden Eagles registered their first wins of the young year to push Tech to the finish line. Sophomore Riku Kubota shined in the No. 2 slot with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Jorge Adair Bartra. Freshman Carlos Vicente followed suit with a 6-2, 6-3 nod against Pol Botifoll Rius in the No. 5 position and sophomore Gonzalo Garcia provided his own powerful punch from the bottom of the Tech lineup with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Aleksa Lazarevic in the No. 6 spot.
Tech's other three singles bouts against the Redbirds (0-2) went unfinished, however the Golden Eagles did find themselves in promising positions in all three clashes. Freshman Rafael Tosetto claimed a 7-6 win in the first set against senior Igor Kolaric in the top spot. Fellow rookie Elias Grubert secured a 6-1 nod in the first set over Diego Le Gal Perez in the No. 3 affair, while Wenceslao Albin also registered a victory in the first set in his No. 4 matchup against Egehan Sertkaya with a 6-0 win.
With the first three matches of the spring season now in the rearview mirror, the Golden Eagles will have a break from the courts before returning to action on Feb. 10 at Wake Forest. Tech's matchup with the defending national champions is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
