By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the regular season inching closer and closer to the finish line, the Tennessee Tech tennis team sets its sights on one last non-conference affair, as the Golden Eagles flock to UAB for a Friday afternoon meeting with the Blazers. First serve from Lakeshore Tennis Courts in Birmingham, Ala. is set for noon CT.
A look at Tennessee Tech
After a 1-9 beginning to the spring that featured six clashes against nationally-ranked opponents, the Golden Eagles (4-11, 2-0 OVC) have looked sharp of late behind a 3-2 mark over the club's last five contests. In fact, TTU's only two losses over the stretch that started at the end of March have been at a "Power 5" foe in the form of Alabama on Apr. 3 and a nationally-ranked squad in No. 65 Georgia State on Sunday.
Tech's defeat at GSU did feature a Jun Sasagawa singles win in the No. 6 position for TTU's only point in the tilt, the Cremorne, Australia product's fourth solo nod of 2022. Mika Berghaus and Elias Grubert are the Tennessee Tech leaders with five singles wins apiece, and the pair join Evzen Holis and Carlos Vicente as the quartet of Golden Eagles with a perfect 2-0 OVC singles ledger.
Berghaus and Grubert also sit atop Tech's doubles leaderboard behind tandem four victories each.
A look at UAB
The Blazers (7-13) welcome Tech to town on the heels of a cold stretch that has seen the club go 1-6 over their last seven matches. Six of the seven battles have been on the road, including a 6-1 triumph at Samford on Mar. 31 in the only victory during the stretch. The Blazers are coming off a 4-3 loss at Alabama in their last matchup on Sunday.
Michal Lusovsky, who was one of three Blazers to claim a Sunday solo nod against the Tide, leads the Blazers with a 13-6 singles record, with all 19 clashes coming out of the No. 1 position. Roman Postolka joins Lusovsky in the double-digit wins department thanks to an 11-5 ledger, highlighted by an unblemished 7-0 mark out of the No. 4 slot.
The dynamic duo of Lusovsky and Postolka are also the UAB leaders on the doubles circuit behind a club-best eight tandem wins apiece.
Inside the series
Friday's get-together will mark the fourth in the all-time set and third in the last four seasons. UAB secured wins in the first two contests thanks to a 9-0 nod on Mar. 17, 1985 in Birmingham and a 4-3 triumph Mar. 9, 2019, also in Birmingham. The Golden Eagles put one on the board last year with a 6-1 nod in Cookeville on Apr. 4.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
