By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A clash for all the regular-season marbles is on the line Saturday afternoon in Nashville, as the Tennessee Tech tennis team heads to Belmont in a winner-take-all scenario for the OVC's regular-season title. First serve from the Belmont Tennis Complex is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
A look at Tennessee Tech
TTU's attempt at an eighth Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship in the last 10 full season comes on the heels of a hot streak that has seen the Golden Eagles (6-11, 3-0 OVC) roll off a 5-2 record over the last seven affairs, highlighted by a perfect 3-0 conference run. Tech is coming off a 6-1 victory over Austin Peay on Tuesday in the club's final Cookeville clash of 2022.
The impressive nod over the Govs featured a strong singles showing that saw all six Golden Eagles secure a straight-set triumph. Mika Berghaus has paced the purple and gold with seven solo wins and is one of four Golden Eagles with a perfect 3-0 singles record. Elias Grubert, Evzen Holis and Carlos Vicente are also 3-0 in the solo league ledger department, while Rafael Tosetto is an unblemished 2-0.
From a doubles perspective, Berghaus and Grubert have teamed up to form TTU's most formidable tandem duo behind five wins this spring. Vicente is an undefeated 3-0 during doubles action in OVC play, while Jun Sasagawa has looked sharp during conference play thanks to a 2-0 tandem mark.
A look at Belmont
The Bruins (12-4, 3-0) enter the regular-season finale in Music City surging to the tune of a 9-1 record over the last 10 matches since mid-February. The squad's only loss during the stretch was a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Louisville on Apr. 13.
Belmont is coming off a 5-2 nod at EIU on Apr. 16 in a tilt that featured singles victories from Arthur Toledo, Tomas Luis, Ian Cruz, Taisei Miyamoto and Jack Randall. Cruz leads the Bruins with a 12-3 solo account in which the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native has gone 5-2 out of the No. 3 position and 6-1 out of the No. 4 slot. Miyamoto is tied with Alfred Wallin for the second-most singles wins on the squad with 11. Wallin has gone 10-1 out of the No. 6 spot.
Randall and Toledo have joined up to go a team-leading 9-3 during doubles action this spring, with all 12 meetings coming out of the No. 2 position. Miyamoto and Wallin have gone 7-3 out of the No. 3 tandem spot.
Inside the series
The Golden Eagles and Bruins will hook up for the 30th time in the series, with Tech holding an 18-11 edge. Tech took the regular-season meeting 5-2 on the way to an OVC regular-season crown, but Belmont bested the purple and gold behind a 4-3 win in the OVC Tournament title match in a contest that saw the Golden Eagles forced to forfeit a pair of points due to COVID-19 protocols.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
