By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Smack dab in the middle of fans, staff and administration in the Eagles Nest, the Tennessee Tech tennis team had all of its questions answered in regards to where and who they would be playing in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Back in the NCAA Tournament for a third-straight season, the Golden Eagles learned that they will be off to Starkville, Miss. to tangle with No. 6 Mississippi State in the first round of college tennis' most premiere event. Memphis and South Alabama make up the other part of the region and will get together in a first-round matchup as well. The two victors will square off in the second round of the single-elimination format tourney.
The first and second rounds are scheduled for May 11-13.
Tech (10-11, 5-1 OVC) is coming off a thrilling run in the OVC Tournament, taking down top-seeded Belmont in a championship match for the ages that gave the Golden Eagles their first ever three-peat in the conference tourney.
After a second-place regular season finish in the SEC, Mississippi State (20-2, 11-1 SEC) won the SEC Tournament behind a 4-3 win over fifth-ranked and top-seeded Texas A&M in the finals. The Bulldogs' title marked the second since the SEC tourney went to a dual match format in 1990, with the other championship coming in 1996.
Tech is 1-2 all-time against Miss. State. The Golden Eagles bested the Bulldogs in 1971, while State topped TTU in 1974 and 2013. No. 63 Eduardo Mena knocked off Mississippi State's No. 1 and the nation's second-ranked player, Nuno Borges, in straight-sets back in early October as part of the ITA Men's All-American Championship in Tulsa, Okla.
After the first two rounds, the rest of the NCAA Tournament will be played May 17-28 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, N.C. Stay posted to ttusports.com as well as the Tech Athletics Facebook and Twitter for continuous updates on all things Golden Eagle tennis, including a detailed preview of the NCAA Tournament as it draws closer.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
