By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
BOONE, N.C. – Rust was certainly not a factor for the Tennessee Tech tennis team, as the Golden Eagles smacked an exclamation point at the end of a 22-day layoff with a 6-1 win at Appalachian State Sunday afternoon.
Tech's first victory of the season featured purple and gold triumphs in five-of-six singles battles, all of which were of the straight-set variety. In fact, with the match squared at 1-1 following a 6-2, 6-4 Rafael Tosetto loss to Aleksandar Petrovic in the No. 1 position, the Golden Eagles (1-3) seized the next five duels to claim the contest.
Carlos Vicente started the scorching stretch with a 6-1, 7-6 nod against Matvey Radionov in the No. 3 slot, which was promptly followed by a 6-3, 6-4 Evzen Holis win over Milo Bargeron in the No. 2 clash. With Tech leading 3-1, Elias Grubert officially clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph over Alex Pavkovich in the No. 4 spot.
Riku Kubota and Lucca Silva put the finishing touches on TTU's impressive showing with wins at the back of the lineup. Kubota collected a 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-0) win against Zion Heaven in the No. 5 get-together and Silva took home a 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 nod over Alessio Azzalini in the No. 6 meeting.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early lead over App State (1-4) thanks to wins in two tandem matchups to clinch the doubles point. Evzen Holis and Carlos Vicente registered a 6-4 victory against Milo Bargeron and Alek Pavkovich in the No. 1 battle, while Marc Mila and Rafael Tosetto picked up a 7-5 nod against Alessio Azzalini and Matvey Radionov in the No. 3 position.
The No. 2 clash pitting Lucca Silva and Riku Kubota against Zion Heaven and Aleksandar Petrovic did not finish.
The Golden Eagles will continue a season-opening road swing down in Tallahassee on Feb. 22, where Tech will take on Florida State. TTU will also play Buffalo on Feb. 23 in a neutral-site meeting against the Bulls to conclude the club's stay in the Sunshine State.
Photo by Tony Marable