By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A challenging early-season slate for the Tennessee Tech tennis team continues over the weekend, as the Golden Eagles head to No. 7 Wake Forest for a Saturday evening showdown with the Demon Deacons. First serve from the Wake Forest Tennis Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. is set for 5 p.m. CT.
Live stats are available for the match. Click here to view.
A look at Tech
The Golden Eagles (0-2) prepare for their third straight match against a "Power 5" opponent to begin the 2020 year after Tech pulled back the curtain on the season with back-to-back losses at No. 21 Mississippi State. TTU was upended 4-2 in the club's first contest on Jan. 11, before tying a ribbon on the Starkville swing with a 5-2 loss to the Bulldogs on Jan. 12.
Despite the pair of defeats at the hands of the defending SEC Tournament champion, sophomore Elias Grubert shined behind singles wins in each of the two days, serving as the only Golden Eagle to wrap up the weekend at 2-0. Freshman Evzen Holis joined Grubert in the winner's circle in the season-opener, while junior Riku Kubota accompanied Grubert in the victory column in Sunday's' 5-2 decision.
Grubert's strong start to the season picked up a little more steam after seeing his name as one of three Tech players to be recognized on the OVC's preseason player top 10 list. Announced by the conference Thursday morning following a vote by the league's head coaches, Grubert took home the No. 7 spot on the list. Sophomore Rafael Tosetto headlined the Golden Eagle group with a third-place ranking and fellow sophomore Carlos Vicente saw his name etched in the No. 9 slot on the list.
As a team, Tech shared the top position with Belmont in the OVC's predicted order of finish. The two clubs split the six first-place votes.
A look at Wake Forest
Before greeting the Golden Eagles, the Demon Deacons will host Coastal Carolina at 11 a.m. CT in the squad's first match of the 2020 campaign. A perennial powerhouse, Wake is coming off a 34-4 2019 season that included a 12-0 ACC record and a 20-0 mark at home. The Deacs claimed the ACC Tournament title and made it to the NCAA Tournament championship match, where the club fell 4-1 to Texas.
Bar Botzer returns for his junior season after pacing Wake Forest with a 25-2 singles record last spring. The Tel Aviv, Israel native went a perfect 8-0 out of the No. 2 spot and posted a 16-2 mark out of the No. 3 position. Melios Efstathiou is also back into the Demon Deacon fold after registering a team-leading 9-0 ACC record during singles action.
Wake leads the all-time series, 4-1, over Tech, which includes a doubleheader sweep over the Golden Eagles last February while the Deacs were ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Photo by Tony Marable
