By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team secured its first OVC victory of the season in emphatic fashion with a 7-0 nod over Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon. The shutout victory snapped a four-match slide for the Golden Eagles and pushed TTU to a 33-2 record over the club's last 35 contests played at Tech Tennis Courts.
After collecting the doubles point behind wins in the top two slots, the Golden Eagles (5-12, 1-1 OVC) won all six singles clashes, without dropping a set in the process. Freshman Rafael Tosetto claimed a 7-5, 6-2 win over Freddie O'Brien in the No. 1 position, while fellow freshman Carlos Vicente took home victory out of the No. 2 spot after winning the first set 6-2 over Mike Jansen, before Jansen retired trailing 2-0 in the second.
Gonzalo Garcia soared to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Gage Kingsmith in the No. 3 affair, while Wenceslao Albin notched a 6-3, 6-3 nod against Daniel Hernandez in the No. 4 battle and Lucca Silva rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Gertjan De Wilder in the No. 5 tilt.
Fanis Kontopoulos collected his first win of the spring with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Logan Charbonneau in the No. 6 slot.
Tech took home the top two tandem battles over the Panthers (10-12, 0-2 OVC) en route to a quick start in the match. Vicente and Garcia toppled Jansen and De Wilder, 7-5, in the No. 1 tilt and Riku Kubota and Albin secured a 6-4 triumph over Kingsmith and Hernandez in the No. 2 meeting.
The No. 3 clash did not finish with the score deadlocked 5-5 between TTU's Elias Grubert and Marc Mila and EIU's Freddie O'Brien and Logan Charbonneau.
Tech will hit the road for three straight matches, starting with a Friday, Apr. 5 affair at the University of Tennessee. The match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. CT. TTU's next OVC match is Sunday at Austin Peay.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information