By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team achieved perfection in Ohio Valley Conference play, capping off an undefeated voyage through its conference slate with a 7-0 win over Murray State Saturday afternoon at Tech Tennis Courts. Champions of the OVC's regular season, the Golden Eagles (13-6, 9-0) claim their third unblemished conference campaign in the last five years, while Tech's 13 regular season victories are the most since the 2008 season.
Saturday's blowout victory over the Racers (3-22, 1-8) marked the second-straight 7-0 nod for TTU after the Golden Eagles disposed of Austin Peay, 7-0, Friday afternoon. As the No. 1 seed, Tech heads straight to the semifinals of the OVC Tournament, played at Centennial Sportsplex Tennis Center in Nashville on Saturday, Apr. 23. The championship match is set for Sunday.
Tech took care of business in doubles play with wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, before rolling through singles action with wins in all six tilts for the fourth straight match. In fact, all six singles matches ended in just two sets.
Sophomore Eduardo Mena and freshman Guillermo Nicolas wrapped up a pair of perfect OVC slates as Mena topped fellow sophomore Marcel Ueltzhoeffer, 6-0, 7-6, in the top spot, and Nicolas secured a 6-2, 6-3 victory against freshman David Schrott in the No. 4 slot. Both Golden Eagles end the regular season at 9-0 in the OVC with Mena capping off a tremendous regular season that saw the Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native go 18-1 in singles play this spring, and 31-5 overall dating back to the fall, while Nicolas wasn't too shabby in his own right with a sparkling 16-3 record during the spring.
Sophomore Marcos Bernardes put a lid on his spring with a 12-3 mark, going 8-1 in the OVC after powering past junior David Hess, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 5 position.
TTU's veteran presence shined as well with senior Alex Arovin registering a 7-6, 6-3 win over sophomore Will True in the No. 2 spot, junior Alberto Esteban rolling past sophomore Srdjan Trosic, 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 3 slot, and senior Alvaro Cintas earning a 6-3, 6-4 nod against freshman Javier Villar in the No. 6 position.
In doubles play, the tandem of Eduardo Mena and Marcos Bernardes captured a 6-1 win against the duo of Will True and David Hess in the No. 2 spot, while Jorge Alfonzo and Guillermo Nicolas topped Srdjan Trosic and Javier Villar, 6-2, in the No. 3 slot. Alex Arovin and Alberto Esteban did not finish their match with Marcel Ueltzhoeffer and David Schrott in the No. 1 position.
The Golden Eagles head into the OVC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, advancing straight to the semifinals with a first round bye. Tech will play Saturday (Apr. 23) at Centennial Sportsplex Tennis Center in Nashville, locking up with the winner of Friday's second match between the No. 4 and No. 5 seed. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday.
