SUNDAY 9/15 RECAP
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – More victory was in the cards for the Tennessee Tech tennis team Sunday afternoon while wrapping up the Commodore Scramble in Nashville.
The Golden Eagles tallied three singles wins and claimed victories in both of the club's doubles match-ups at Vanderbilt's fall event, totaling five overall in the three-day event.
Elias Grubert provided the highlight of the day, winning the Chad Harris Singles Draw with a 6-3, 7-5 triumph over the Commodore's James Ignatowich. Also scoring a singles win was sophomore Rafael Tosetto. He dropped Vanderbilt's Max Freeman in straight sets, 6-0 and 6-1.
Contributing to the singles victories, junior Riku Kubota posted back-to-back sets of 6-4, 6-4. He took down Pedro Uribe of Lipscomb in the third day of play.
Carlos Vicente dropped a heartbreaker against Vanderbilt's Marcus Ferreira, falling in the first set 6-1 only to rally for a 7-5 victory in set two. Ferreira edged him in the deciding set, 6-4.
On the doubles side of the day, the two-man tango of Vicente and Grubert put an exclamation point on the weekend with an 8-2 win over the Auburn pair of Michael Durham and Spencer Gray.
Tosetto and Kubota collected a victory without ever breaking a sweat as the Lipscomb couple of Jorge Ortegon and Gonzalo Garcia-Nieto withdrew from the competition.
Tech returns to action at the ITA All-American in Tulsa, Okla. beginning Saturday, Oct. 5.
SATURDAY 9/14 RECAP
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A slew of wins was the story for the Tennessee Tech tennis team in day two of the Commodore Scramble in Nashville.
The Golden Eagles collected five singles wins and claimed victories in both of the club's doubles clashes for seven total wins during a busy second day of Vanderbilt's fall tournament.
The second round of singles play saw the Golden Eagles secure wins in three-of-four matchups, including a Rafael Tosetto nod against Vanderbilt's Panu Virtanen. The sophomore's straight-set victory was one of two of its kind for the purple and gold, with Elias Grubert powering past Belmont's Jake Briggs with a 6-4, 7-5 victory.
Riku Kubota also registered a second-round singles triumph with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win over Lipscomb's Maksim Bogdanovich. Tech's only second-round loss came at the hands of Vandy's George Howell, who upended Carlos Vicente, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
In the afternoon's third round, Grubert and Tosetto were at it again, with both sophomores notching straight-set wins in their respective battles. Grubert took down Belmont's David Faulkner, 6-1, 6-1, while Tosetto was victorious against former Golden Eagle Gonzalo Garcia-Nieto, now of Lipscomb.
Riku Kubota and Carlos Vicente fell in third round, as Kubota dropped a three-set match to Vanderbilt's James Ignatowich and Vicente was upended, 6-3, 6-1, by Felix Rauch of Belmont.
As far as doubles play is concerned, the purple and gold made it a perfect pair with triumphs in both of their tilts. Tosetto and Kubota took down Nikola Slavic and Cotter Wilson of Ole Miss, while Vicente and Grubert secured an 8-6 nod over Lipscomb's Gonzalo Garcia-Nieto and Jorge Ortegon.
The final day of the Commodore Scramble carries on with fourth-round doubles action at 9 a.m. CT and fourth-round singles play at 10 a.m.
FRIDAY 9/13 RECAP
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team found success in the club's first event of the fall, as TTU claimed a total of four wins in the opening day of the Commodore Scramble in Nashville.
The Golden Eagles soared during singles play to the tune of three nods in four first-round clashes. Sophomore Elias Grubert helped highlight the morning with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 nod over Vanderbilt's Keaton Allwardt, while Carlos Vicente secured a straight-set, 6-3, 7-5, victory over Lipscomb's Victor Chaw and Riku Kubota glided past Belmont's Grant Kelly with a 6-3, 6-1 win.
Tech's only singles loss of the day came at the hands of an SEC school, as Cotter Wilson of Ole Miss took down Rafael Tosetto, 6-4, 6-2.
Elias Grubert will look to make it back-to-back wins to kick off the tourney with a Saturday morning matchup against Belmont's Jake Briggs at 10 a.m. CT. Riku Kubota will square off with Lipscomb's Maksim Bogdanovich in his second-round clash at 10 a.m. and Carlos Vicente will greet Vanderbilt's George Harwell, also beginning at 10 a.m.
Tech's final Saturday singles match will feature Rafael Tosetto against Vanderbilt's Panu Virtanen at 10 a.m.
As far as doubles play is concerned, the Golden Eagles split their pair of first-round affairs. The Tech tandem of Tosetto and Kubota secured an 8-6 victory against Belmont's Taisei Miyamoto and Felix Rauch, while the TTU doe of Vicente and Grubert fell to Belmont's Grant Kelly and Ole Miss' Sebastian Rios, 8-7 (10-8).
Tosetto and Kubota would go on to drop an 8-2 decision to Vanderbilt's Billy Rowe and Max Freeman in the second round and Vicente and Grubert dropped their second-consecutive tilt with an 8-7 (4) loss to Belmont's Jake Briggs and Miyamoto.
The three-day tournament, hosted by Vanderbilt, continues Saturday morning with second-round singles play at 10 a.m. and third-round doubles action at 9 a.m.
Photo by Tony Marable
