By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team took care of business in Saturday's OVC Tournament semifinals, as the Golden Eagles secured a 4-1 win over Austin Peay to advance to Sunday's championship match.
Tech's triumph pushes the purple and gold to its fifth consecutive OVC Tournament final, as the club moves one step closer to the OVC's first five-peat champion since Middle Tennessee claimed eight straight titles in the early to late 90s. The Golden Eagles (10-5) also picked up their 10th win in a row to match the program's longest winning streak since 2012.
Saturday's victory saw Tech collect the doubles point to jump ahead 1-0, despite having to forfeit the third clash due to not having enough players available to participate. TTU's top tandem of Evzen Holis and Jun Sasagawa notched a 6-2 win over Frederic Schlossmann and Anton Damberg, which was mirrored by Carlos Vicente and Rafael Tosetto in the No. 2 spot behind a 6-2 victory of their own against Oliver Andersson and Jacob Lorino.
The Golden Eagles displayed similar dominance over the Govs (2-11) during singles play, claiming all three completed battles on the way to the 4-1 finish. Vicente powered past Schlossman, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 1 spot, while Holis picked up a 6-1, 6-2 nod over Andersson in the No. 2 affair and Andre Rodeia earned a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Jacob Lorina in the No. 4 clash.
APSU's point came courtesy of a TTU forfeit in the No. 6 position. The other two singles tilts went unfinished, though Tech did win the first set in each instance thanks to a Rafael Tosetto 6-2 opening-set win over Anton Damberg in the No. 3 matchup and a Jun Sasagawa 6-2 first-set victory over Gabriel Nolasco Pozo in the No. 5 get-together.
The top-seeded Golden Eagles will go for glory in Sunday's championship match, awaiting the winner of No. 2 Jacksonville State and No. 3 Belmont in Saturday's second semifinal. The title bout is set to begin at 10 a.m. CT.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
