Tech marches into OVC Tournament as No. 1 seed; set to play in semifinals Saturday morning

Posted: Apr 21, 2016

By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Having already enjoyed a historic spring campaign, the Tennessee Tech tennis team takes aim at the greatest prize the year has to offer, an Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles (13-6, 9-0) head to the Centennial Sportsplex Tennis Center in Nashville for the 2016 OVC Tournament, entering the field of six as the No. 1 seed after claiming the regular season championship with a perfect, 9-0, conference record.

As the top seed, Tech will enjoy a first-round bye, advancing straight to the tournament semifinals on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT. The Golden Eagles will await the winner of No. 4 Jacksonville State and No. 5 Morehead State, an opening-round match to be played Friday morning. The championship finale is set for Sunday at 10 a.m.

Winners of now four of the last five regular season titles, TTU ran an unblemished conference circuit for the third time in the last five years, outscoring its opponents an eye-popping 54-9 along the way. The perfect campaign led the Golden Eagles to a whole host of conference hardware as Tech swept the trio of heavy duty honors, posting four to the all-conference teams as well after the OVC announced its postseason honors during Thursday night's awards dinner.

Sophomore Eduardo Mena was named Player of the Year, freshman Guillermo Nicolas was recognized as the conference's Freshman of the Year, and Kenny Doyle took home Coach of the Year accolades, his fourth in seven seasons at the helm of the program.

Mena, Nicolas and junior Alberto Esteban also found themselves on the first-team All-OVC, while Arovin secured a spot on the second team.

Eduardo Mena's Player of the Year distinction should come as little surprise after the Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native steamrolled his way through the spring, posting an 18-1 singles record and an undefeated, 9-0, mark in conference action. Dating back to the fall, Mena has won an eye-popping 31 singles matches, the most ever in program history, surpassing Gernot Fischer (2002) and Ken Large (1996), each of whom claimed 29 singles nods.

The 6-foot sophomore also heads into the tournament on a 12-match singles win streak, seizing all 12 victories out of the No. 1 spot.

Guillermo Nicolas hoists Freshman of the Year hardware after mowing down the conference competition to the tune of a perfect, 9-0, OVC singles record, and a 7-0 conference doubles mark. Overall, Nicolas went 16-3 in singles play during the spring, and 10-4 in doubles action.

Alberto Esteban continues his conference legacy with a third-straight spot on an All-OVC squad, and second on the first-team, after also securing a place on the 2014 first-team. The Madrid, Spain native posted a 7-2 OVC singles record and went 4-2 in conference doubles action, playing solely out of the top doubles spot.

Last year's conference Player of the Year, Alex Arovin, caps off a brilliant career in the TTU purple and gold with yet another OVC accolade. The 6-foot-1 senior punches his ticket on the All-Conference second team, his third straight all-conference nod after back-to-back first-team reservations. The Donetsk, Ukraine native nears the end of his Tech tenure with a combined 30-6 OVC record, going 16-4 in singles action, and 14-2 in doubles play.

Sophomores Marcos Bernardes and Jorge Algonzo have also impressed throughout the course of the spring, combining to go 15-2 in conference singles action, providing TTU with a powerful punch at the bottom of the lineup.

Previewing Tech's pair of potential opponents in the semifinals, No. 4 Jacksonville State (9-14, 5-4) enters the postseason having dropped two of the last three with losses to Austin Peay (Apr. 16) and SIU Edwardsville (Apr. 9). The Gamecocks did not post anyone on the all-conference teams, however freshman Andres Gomez did notch a 13-5 singles record, going 8-1 in the OVC. The Venezuela native did most of his damage at the bottom of the order with a 7-0 mark out of the No. 5 spot, and a 6-4 record out of the No. 6 slot.

The Golden Eagles bested JSU on the road with a 5-2 win on Mar. 26, one of only two conference tilts for Tech that didn't end with 6-1 or 7-0 victory. Gomez tallied a win in the No. 6 spot and junior Jaryd Reese was responsible for the other Jax State point, registering a victory out of the No. 2 slot.

As far as No. 5 Morehead State is concerned, after starting 4-0 in conference play, the Eagles (6-11, 5-4) dropped four of the remaining five to close out the regular season. In fact, TTU kick started Morehead's sluggish ending with a 6-1 win in Cookeville on Apr. 1, the Eagles' first loss in the conference campaign.

MSU posted a pair of Eagles on the all-conference squads, highlighted by junior Ritchie Kruunenberg, who earned first-team accolades after wrapping up a 9-2 showing out of the No. 1 spot in doubles action this spring. Senior Gabriel Ruiz was showered with second-team honors, teaming up with Kruunenberg to go 9-2 as well out of the No. 1 slot in doubles play.

Tech did seize the doubles point in its clash with the Eagles on Apr. 1, dropping only a No. 5 singles match to Sebastian Penaloza to account for Morehead's only point of the match.

The Golden Eagles have won seven conference tournament titles, last reaching the pinnacle in 2006, capping off a string of three appearances in a four-year span.