By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team opened up its home slate on the right foot, as the Golden Eagles used a dominant singles showing and timely doubles play to capture the 2020 home opener with a 6-1 win over Kennesaw State on Saturday.
Tech's impressive performance pushed the Golden Eagles (3-4) to their first winning streak of the season after the squad collected a 6-1 nod over Buffalo in the last affair on Feb. 23. TTU's triumph over the Owls (2-4) also kept the purple and gold undefeated against unranked teams, winning all three contests by 6-1 margins.
After seizing the doubles point with victories in two-of-three matchups, Tech cruised to success during singles action behind nods in five-of-six clashes, including four wins that needed just two sets to get to the finish line. Carlos Vicente took down Sebastian Osorio with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph in the No. 3 spot, while Elias Grubert helped hold down the fort in the middle of the lineup with a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Kevin Patel in the No. 4 position.
TTU's veteran presence performed well at the bottom of the lineup, thanks to a 6-4, 7-5 win by junior Riku Kubota over Gaston Muhammad in the No. 5 get-together and a 6-2, 7-6 victory by senior Fanis Kontopoulos against Harvey Conway in the No. 6 meeting.
Fresh off being named the OVC Male Tennis Athlete of the Week, freshman Evzen Holis did not disappoint with a 7-6, 2-6, 10-5 nod over Bryan Triana in the No. 1 slot in his first-ever collegiate contest in Cookeville.
Sophomore Rafael Tosetto took Tech's lone solo defeat with a 5-7, 6-2, 10-4 loss to Sergio Ingles in the No. 2 battle.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the match after collecting a pair of hard-earned doubles victories to clinch the tandem point. Riku Kubota and Lucca Silva registered a 6-4 victory against Kevin Patel and Drew Lahey in the No. 2 clash, while Marc Mila and Rafael Tosetto helped push Tech over the hump with a 7-6 win against Sergio Ingles and Harvey Conway in the No. 3 spot.
Tech was unable to make it a perfect three-for-three showing, as the youthful Golden Eagle tandem of Evzen Holis and Carlos Vicente was upended 6-4 by Bryan Triana and Gaston Muhammad in the top position.
The Golden Eagles will be right back at it in the second of a four-match homestand, as the purple and gold will say hello to Chattanooga on Sunday, Mar. 1 from Tech Tennis Courts. The meeting with the Mocs (11-3) is scheduled to begin at noon CT and admission is free of charge.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
