By TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Eduardo Mena and the Tennessee Tech men's tennis team earned preseason nods on Thursday as the Golden Eagles were picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference men's tennis race. Mena was selected as the league's top player in the preseason poll.
The poll was voted on by the conference's coaches.
Including Mena, the 2016 and 2017 OVC Player of the Year, the Golden Eagles have three players in the Top 10 list, joined by 2017 co-Freshman of the Year Marc Mila and Jorge Alfonzo. Tech is coming off its eighth OVC championship season.
Mena had a memorable junior campaign in 2017, becoming the first Golden Eagle to win a match in the NCAA Division I Singles Championships with a victory over Maxime Tchoutakiam from Baylor. Mena finished 17-2 in singles play last spring, including a perfect 6-0 in OVC play.
The 2018 OVC Men's and Women's Tennis Championships will be held April 20-22 in Nashville.
2018 OVC Men's Tennis Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league's head coaches)
1. Tennessee Tech - 33
2. Eastern Kentucky – 28
3. Jacksonville State – 26
4. Belmont – 25
5. Austin Peay – 18
6. Eastern Illinois - 9
7. Tennessee State – 8
2018 OVC Men's Top Ten Player Rankings
(as voted on by the league's head coaches)
1. Eduardo Mena, Tennessee Tech
2. Almantas Ozelis, Austin Peay
3. Ramon van Flyman, Eastern Kentucky
4. Vincent Sterkens, Belmont
5. Hendrik Inno, Belmont
T6. Jorge Alfonzo, Tennessee Tech
T6. Paolo Cucalon, Jacksonville State
T8. Marc Mila, Tennessee Tech
T8. Parth Aggarwal, Eastern Kentucky
10. Christian Edison, Austin Peay
