By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Arguably the best ever to put on the purple and gold will once again have the chance to shine when the lights are brightest and the stage is grandest.
Senior Eduardo Mena, the 63rd-ranked player in the nation, has been selected compete in the NCAA Division I singles championships. A day after the Golden Eagles learned that they would be off to Mississippi State for the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Mena discovered that he will be among a field of the country's 64 best, competing in a tourney set for May 23-28 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
The first round of the single-elimination format is slated for May 23 from Winston-Salem, N.C.
Mena's selection to compete in the singles championship puts the two-time OVC Player of the Year in rarified air, becoming the only Golden Eagle to participate in the singles championships in two different seasons after taking aim in last year's event. Borja Zarco is the only other Tennessee Tech men's tennis player to participate in the tournament with a selection in 2008.
In last year's event in Athens, Ga., Mena made history in becoming the first Golden Eagle to ever win a match in the championships with a 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory over Baylor's Maxime Tchoutakian in the first round.
Mena's selection this year is one of 15 automatic qualifier spots, representing the Ohio Valley Conference in the exclusive field. The conference was awarded with an automatic qualification by virtue of having one or more eligible singles players ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Top 125. All singles players must have a minimum of 13 completed singles matches, with six matches in the spring, in order to be selected as an automatic qualifier or an at-large selection. There are 49 at-large selections.
Mena recently added to an already star-studded resume with an All-OVC first team selection, his third throughout his storied career and fourth All-OVC nod overall after earning second-team recognition as a freshman. After winning both of his singles bouts in the OVC Tournament en route to helping lead Tech to its first ever three-peat, the Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain moved to 14-5 in singles action this spring, all out of the top spot in the TTU lineup.
In the fall, Mena took down three of the nation's Top 50 opponents while participating in some of the country's most premier tournaments. The 6-foot senior knocked off No. 2 Nuno Borges of Mississippi State and No. 42 Julian Cash of Oklahoma State as part of a run to the quarterfinals of the ITA Men's All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Mena 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 slate.
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 release on the singles championship bracket once it's made available.
Photo by Tony Marable
