COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Facing players not only from teams around the country, members of the Tennessee Tech tennis team will compete this weekend in the Fifth Annual Purdue Fall Invitational where they will meet opponents from around the world. On the first day of play, Tech's players are scheduled to face foes from Sweden, Spain, Ecuador, and Romania, plus three from the United States.

The Purdue tournament starts Friday morning. Players from nearly 20 teams will be in action during the three-day event with matches played at the Schwartz Tennis Center and Cumberland Tennis Courts in West Lafayette.

Coach Kenny Doyle has four players in the field representing Tech. Golden Eagle sophomore Alex Arovin, tied for 94th in the ITA preseason player rankings, opens play against American Alex Galoustian of DePaul early Friday afternoon in the Flight A singles draw. In Flight D singles, Tech newcomer Eduardo Mena takes on Iowa's Nils Hallestrand of Sweden. In Flight E, Golden Eagle freshman Carols Tajes faces Californian Marcus Nalley of IUPUI, and in Flight F, Golden Eagle junior Alvaro Cintas will play Spaniard Chris Gonzalez of Chicago State.

In the Flight A doubles draw, Arovin and Mena square off against Hallestrand and American Jake Jacoby of Iowa. In Flight B doubles, Cintas and Tajes meet Chicago State's Mario Noboa from Ecuador and Sergiu Muresan from Romania.

Saturday and Sunday’s action is set for an 8 a.m. start. One round of singles and two rounds of doubles are slated for Friday, followed by two rounds of singles and one round of doubles on Saturday. Finals for each flight in doubles and singles will be contested on Sunday. Matches will be played on a dozen outdoor and six indoor courts at the Schwartz Tennis Center, while six outdoor courts are available at Cumberland Tennis Courts.

Six flights of singles competition will use the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) recommended NCAA singles format and three flights of doubles will play an eight game pro-set with no-add scoring. The Sept. 8 ITA rankings, followed by the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR), will be used for seeding the draws.

PURDUE FALL INVITATIONAL

Schedule
Friday, Sept. 19: one round of singles, two rounds of doubles
Saturday, Sept. 20: two rounds of singles, one round of doubles
Sunday, Sept. 21: FINALS Start time each day is 8 a.m. ET.

Sites
Schwartz Tennis Center – West Lafayette, Ind.
Cumberland Tennis Courts – West Lafayette, Ind.

Matches will be played on indoor and outdoor courts at both locations.

Participating Teams
· Iowa
· Memphis
· Louisville
· Notre Dame
· Western Michigan
· Marquette
· Eastern Kentucky
· DePaul
· UW Green Bay
· Valparaiso
· Case Western
· Toledo
· IUPUI
· Chicago
· Tennessee Tech
· Cleveland State
· Chicago State
· Vincennes

A complete recap of Tech's results in the tournament will be posted Sunday evening on TTU sports.com once all play is finished.