By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Following a 22-day hiatus from the courts, the Tennessee Tech tennis team is back in action with one match scheduled over the weekend. The Golden Eagles will be in Boone, N.C. on Sunday, Feb. 9 to take on Appalachian State at 9 a.m. CT.
Live stats are available for Sunday's contest. Click here to view.
A look at Tech
Tech (0-3) heads back to the Tar Heel State after the Golden Eagles were last spotted at Wake Forest in their last match back on Jan. 18. The loss to the No. 7-ranked Demon Deacons helped conclude an early-season trend that saw TTU play three straight nationally-ranked opponents to unwrap 2020. Tech opened the spring season with back-to-back losses at No. 21 Mississippi State.
Despite the slew of sturdy competition, sophomore Elias Grubert has shined with singles wins in two of his three clashes. The Parana, Argentina native is responsible for half of the club's four points this year, with freshman Evzen Holis and junior Riku Kubota each claiming a singles triumph as well through the season's initial stages.
A look at Appalachian State
Before battling the Golden Eagles on Sunday in the squad's 2020 home opener, the Mountaineers (1-2) will be at Virginia Tech on Saturday for the club's first opponent outside of the Volunteer State. App State opened the year with a 4-0 win at Tennessee State, before back-to-back losses at Lipscomb and at Chattanooga, both by identical 6-1 margins.
Five different Mountaineers have secured one singles point through the first three matches of the spring, but the team is without a competitor with at least two nods. Matvey Radionov's victory came out of the No. 1 spot, while Milo Bargeron took home a win in the No. 2 spot to help pace the club toward the top.
Alex Pavkovich has a victory in the No. 3 position to go along with Alessio Azzalini's triumph in the No. 5 slot and Campbell Stone's win out of the No. 6 spot to round out App State's five different singles wins.
Sunday's get-together will mark the fourth meeting in the all-time series. The Mountaineers lead the set 2-1, including a 4-3 win in the last head-to-head matchup in 2013.
Photo by Tony Marable