By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team saw a trio of Golden Eagles take their shot in the Universal Tennis College Circuit at Belmont, hosted by the Bruins in Nashville.
Freshman Jaime Paquet compiled a stellar showing that featured a pair of wins in the Navy Single's Back Draw that saw the Gijon, Spain native advance to the semifinals of the draw. After initially dropping his first affair, 6-2, 6-2, to Belmont's Marko Illic in the main draw, Paquet rallied to the tune of two victories in the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals of the back draw.
Paquet first secured a 6-0, 6-7, 1-0 (10-8) triumph over Alexander Adamec in the Round of 16, before the Golden Eagle rookie collected a 7-6, 1-6, 1-0 (10-8) victory against Lipscomb's Maksim Bogdanovich to move to the semis. Paquet ultimately fell to an OVC foe in the form of Tennessee State's Nil Moinet with a 6-4, 6-2 loss that ended his valiant tournament run.
Similar to Paquet, Tech's other two competitors were bested in the first round of the main draw as well. Jun Sasagawa was upended 6-3, 6-4 by Sam Edgar out of Memphis while freshman Pol Masafret was defeated 6-2, 0-6, 1-0 (10-8) by Niklas Von Hellens. Sasagawa defaulted in his Round of 16 back draw matchup and Masafret was taken down by Alabama's Vincent Rettke in his back-draw tangle by a 6-2, 6-2 decision.
Evzen Holis and Carlos Vicente each defaulted in their main draw affairs.
The Golden Eagles will next hit the courts in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships, set for Oct. 13-17 in Louisville, Ky.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
