By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team will conclude its brief homestand with a Saturday meeting against Eastern Illinois at Tech Tennis Courts. Originally scheduled to begin at noon, the match has been moved up to an 11 a.m. CT beginning due to the threat of inclement weather.
Admission is free of charge.
Initially slated for a three-match homestand, Tech's Cookeville ledger shrunk to a pair of contests after a cancellation of a Mar. 25 battle with Lipscomb. The Golden Eagles (4-12, 0-1 OVC) opened their stay at home with a 4-3 loss against Belmont on Mar. 23 in the first conference clash of the season.
The bottom of the Tech singles lineup excelled behind wins out of the final three spots. Riku Kubota claimed a 6-4, 7-6 nod out of the No. 4 position, while Wenceslao Albin secured a 6-3, 4-6, 10-4 victory in the No. 5 slot and Lucca Silva registered a 6-4, 6-2 win in the No. 6 meeting.
Albin's nod pushed the senior out of Salliquelo, Argentina native to his club-leading seventh singles win, breaking a tie with sophomore Gonzalo Garcia who is second on the squad with six victories. Kubota and freshman Rafael Tosetto have five wins apiece, with Tosetto doing all of his damage out of the top spot in the Tech order.
Tosetto and Albin are the TTU leaders in doubles play behind eight victories each.
A look at Eastern Illinois
The Panthers (10-11, 0-1 OVC) had a similar beginning to Tech after also falling in the OVC opener with a 6-1 home loss against Jacksonville State on Mar. 22. Daniel Hernandez claimed the lone Panther point with a 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 10-5 triumph out of the No. 4 slot in the singles order.
Hernandez is second on the team with a 10-7 singles mark this spring, highlighted by a 5-2 record out of the No. 3 position and a 1-0 mark out of the No. 2 spot. Freddie O'Brein leads the squad with an 11-6 record, all out of the top position in the Panthers lineup.
O'Brien and sophomore Logan Charbonneau have teamed up to make the most formidable EIU doubles team with a 12-1 ledger in tandem action this spring.
The Golden Eagles have controlled the all-time series with Eastern Illinois, capturing 18 of 19 meetings in the set.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
