By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – In its first matches in nearly a month, the Tennessee Tech tennis team was swept in a Saturday doubleheader at the University of Alabama. The Golden Eagles fell 7-0 in the opener and 4-0 in the nightcap.
1st Match (Alabama 7, Tennessee Tech 0)
In Tech's first affair since a 7-0 defeat at No. 13 Tennessee in the season opener on Jan. 16, the Golden Eagles (0-3) managed to capture just one singles set throughout the course of the first tilt. Andre Rodeia took an early edge over Jeremy Gschwendtner with a 7-6 (6) triumph in the initial set, but would go on to drop the next two to lose the No. 5 battle.
Evzen Holis fought tooth and nail in his opening set with Gabriel Diaz Freire in the No. 3 position, but the Golden Eagle freshman fell 7-5 and was then upended 6-2 in the second set to drop the clash. Alabama (8-2) used stellar production at the top of the singles lineup to power to the finish line, as Edson Ortiz took home a 6-4, 6-3 nod over Carlos Vicente in the No. 1 spot, while Patrick Kaukovalta slid past Rafael Tosetto with a 6-0, 6-3 win in the No. 2 slot.
Ricardo Roberto registered a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Elias Grubert in the No. 4 affair and Vincent Rettke collected a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over Mika Berghaus in the No. 6 position to round out the Tide's singles sweep.
Alabama seized the two doubles matchups that concluded, using a Patrick Kaukovalta and Riccardo Roberto 6-1 win against Carlos Vicente and Mika Berghaus in the top position and a Gabriel Diaz and Alexey Nesterov 6-2 victory over Rafael Tosetto and Andre Rodeia in the No. 3 clash to capture the point.
Jun Sasagawa and Evzen Holis, who earned a win in Tech's season-opening matchup against UT, had Marcelo Sepulveda and Edson Ortiz knotted at 4-4 at the time the tandem tilt was called.
2nd Match (Alabama 4, Tennessee Tech 0)
The Tide took all three singles battles that concluded and led in the other three matchups at the time they were called. Patrick Kaukovalta earned a 6-3, 6-2 nod in the top spot over Carlos Vicente, while Vincent Rettke picked up a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Elias Grubert in the No. 4 duel and Rudi Christiansen recorded a 6-4, 6-4 win against Mika Berghaus out of the No. 6 slot.
Rafael Tosetto showed promise in the No. 2 battle after falling 7-5 in the opening set to Riccardo Roberto. The Golden Eagle sophomore out of Jacarei, Brazil led 3-2 in the second set at the time the clash was called. Jeremy Gschwendtner took the first set, 6-4, against Evzen Holis and led 5-3 in the second once things wrapped up and Alexey Nesterov narrowly edged Andre Rodeia, 7-5, in the first set, before he led Rodeia 5-1 in the second.
Similar to the opening match, Alabama collected wins in both doubles meetings that finished. Jeremy Gschwendtner and Riccardo Roberto defeated Evzen Holis and Jun Sasagawa, 6-3, in the No. 1 position, while Alexey Nesterov and Edson Ortiz earned a 6-2 triumph against Carlos Vicente and Andrea Rodeia in the No. 2 tilt.
Rafael Tosetto and Elias Grubert led 5-4 over Sam Fischer and Rudi Christiansen, but the tandem duel went unfinished.
The Golden Eagles will see their third straight "Power 5" opponent to begin the 2021 season, as Tech will head to Florida State for a doubleheader on Feb. 26. The first match is scheduled for 9 a.m. CT and the second contest is slated for 2 p.m.
Photo by Thomas Corhern