By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Three Golden Eagle soared their way to a piece of postseason hardware during Thursday night's Ohio Valley Conference tennis banquet, reserving their places among the conference's best performers of the 2018 spring campaign.
Senior Eduardo Mena headlined Tech's trio with a spot on the All-OVC first team, while junior Wenceslao Albin and sophomore Marc Mila punched their tickets on the All-OVC second team as Tech boasted at least three all-conference performers for the fourth consecutive season.
Thursday's banquet unwraps the most important weekend of the year for OVC tennis, with the conference's top six teams in Nashville ready to jump into the OVC Tournament. As the No. 2 seed, the Golden Eagles received a first-round bye and have secured a spot in Saturday's semifinal from inside the Centennial Sportsplex.
Eduardo Mena, the nation's 68th-ranked player in the latest Oracle/ITA rankings, collects his third-straight All-OVC first team accolade and fourth all-conference honor overall after reserving a spot on the second team during his freshman campaign. Mena, arguably the most decorated TTU tennis player of all-time with two OVC Player of the Year awards as well as an OVC Freshman of the Year honor, posted a 12-5 singles record during the spring and a 5-1 mark in conference play, all out of the top spot in the Tech lineup.
Mena, who ended the regular season winning nine of his last 10 singles bouts, wrapped up his OVC regular season career with an eye-popping 26-2 record in conference play. The Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native also registered a 5-1 conference record during doubles action this spring.
In the fall, Mena compiled a lofty resume as part of his swan song senior season that included wins against three of the nation's top 50 opponents while taking aim in some of the country's most premier tournaments. Mena knocked off No. 3 Nuno Borges of Mississippi State and No. 45 Julian Cash of Oklahoma State en route to the quarterfinals of the ITA Men's All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. The 6-foot senior also secured a straight-set win against No. 50 Walker Duncan of Georgia during the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens, Ga. to open the fall season.
Wenceslao Albin's place on the All-OVC second team continues an award-filled trend for the Salliquelo, Argentina native, who took home a barrage of accolades during a two-year tenure at East Tennessee State. The 2016 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, Albin was also a member of the SoCon All-freshman team and the 2017 All-SoCon second team for doubles during his days with the Bucs.
This spring Albin took a stranglehold of Tech's No. 2 spot in the singles lineup and thrived in it to the tune of a 5-1 OVC singles record and an 8-5 mark overall out of that position in the Golden Eagle order. During doubles play, the 5-foot-7 junior also found himself in the No. 2 slot and put together a perfect 5-0 conference showing with a 7-3 overall mark in the No. 2 tandem position.
After throwing on the purple and gold, Albin burst onto the scene during the fall with an 8-5 mark, highlighted by a championship in Tech's last tournament of the season. The junior transfer marched his way through the Wake Forest Fall Invitational with a singles title in his bracket that featured four straight wins down in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Marc Mila receives conference recognition for the second straight season after capturing the 2017 OVC Co-Freshman of the Year award during his rookie campaign. Mila took over the No. 3 singles spot in the Golden Eagle lineup and posted a 4-2 OVC record in that role.
In doubles play, the Barcelona, Spain native handled the task of playing at the top of the lineup and glided to a 3-1 conference record with a 5-5 overall mark in that slot.
Mena, Albin, Mila and the rest of the Golden Eagles will greet the winner of Friday's first-round battle between No. 3 Jacksonville State and No. 6 Eastern Illinois. Tech will tangle with the victor on Saturday, Apr. 21 at 8 a.m. CT.
2018 Ohio Valley Conference All Conference Selections
Men's First Team All-Conference
Hendrik Inno, Belmont
Marko Ilić, Belmont
Eduardo Mena, Tennessee Tech
Ramon van Flymen, Eastern Kentucky
Almantos Ozelis, Austin Peay
Aljaz Kaplja, Jacksonville State
Men's Second Team All-Conference
Vincent Sterkens, Belmont
Wenceslao Albin, Tennessee Tech
Freddie O'Brien, Eastern Illinois
Parth Aggarwal, Eastern Kentucky
Marc Mila, Tennessee Tech
Pablo Caffarena, Jacksonville State
Player of the Year
Hendrik Inno, Belmont
Freshman of the Year
Aljaz Kaplja, Jacksonville State
Coach of the Year
Mauricio Antun, Belmont
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
