By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – A series of singles wins highlighted the Tennessee Tech tennis team's fall performance in the Scenic City, as four different Golden Eagles combined for eight triumphs as part of a successful showing in the UTC Steve Baras Fall Invite over the weekend.

Davids Spaks helped lead the charge with a team-leading three solo victories on the way to a Flight E singles title. The Golden Eagle rookie out of Liepaja, Latvia first topped Samford's Harrison Williams 6-3, 6-0 in the quarterfinals, before besting Chattanooga's Jaxon Lamb 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 in the semifinals and Lipscomb's Carlos Salas Tulla 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 in the championship clash.

Fellow freshman Alex Alvarez impressed in his Flight A showing behind back-to-back victories to make it to the championship match of the flight. The Barcelona, Spain native knocked off Lipscomb's Krzystof Wetoszka 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinals and took down Samford's Darcy Nicholls 6-7, 6-1, 10-7 in the semifinals. Alvarez was ultimately upended 7-6, 6-4 by UAB's Georgios Nouchakis in the finals.

Paulo Ramos Martin picked up a pair of wins in Flight B, with the 6-foot sophomore starting his singles run with a 7-6, 6-4 triumph over North Alabama's Birtan Duran in the quarterfinals. Ramos Martin then fell 6-4, 6-2 to Chattanooga's Jakub Jupa in the semifinals, but did bounce back behind a 7-6, 4-6, 10-8 nod over Samford's Santiago Arredondo in the 3-4 Flight B playoff.

Murilo Burckhardt rounded out TTU's singles success with a 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 victory over Chattanooga's Gabriel Castillo-Sanchez in the Flight A quarterfinals. Burckhardt's run was cut down with a 6-1, 2-6, 7-10 loss to UAB's Georgios Nouchakis in the semifinals, which was followed up with a 6-3, 7-5 loss to Samford's Darcy Nicholls in the 3-4 Flight A playoff.

Darek Kuczynski dropped his Flight D quarterfinal clash to Samford's Will Gray by a 6-3, 6-4 margin, while Lucas Bitzer fell 6-2, 7-5 to UAB's Kaustubh Holcomb in his Flight C quarterfinal affair. Kuczynski was also tripped up by Chattanooga's Peyton Gatti by a 6-4, 6-4 margin in the Flight D West semifinal matchup.

As far as doubles play is concerned, the Golden Eagles enjoyed four victories over the weekend, highlighted by a pair of Flight West championships. After falling 7-5 to Lipscomb's Juan Lombisano and Facudno Perlov in the Flight A quarterfinals, Davids Spaks and Paulo Ramos Martin bounced back with consecutive victories to take the Flight A West title. The Tech tandem claimed a 6-4 semifinal win over Austin Peay's Sota Minami and Aeneas Schaub, before securing the championship with a 6-4 triumph against UAB's Georgios Nouchakis and Parker Bradbary in the finals.

Darek Kuczynski and Murilo Burckhardt were upended 7-6 (10-8) in their Flight B East quarterfinal tangle to Lipscomb's Krzystof Wetoszka and Mathes Lima, but rebounded in a big way with consecutive wins to capture the Flight B West crown. The Golden Eagle duo topped Chattanooga's Kristof Kincses and Jaxon Lamb with a 6-3 win and then seized the title with a 7-6 (10-8) triumph against Chattanooga's Walker Valentine and Ryan Mudre.

Alex Alvarez and Lucas Bitzer dropped their two doubles matchups with a 6-2 loss to Lipscomb's Juan Sebastian Dominguez Collado and Henrique Ushizima in the Flight B East quarterfinals and a 6-1 defeat to Chattanooga's Run Mudre and Walker Valentine in the Flight B East semifinals.

Tech will conclude its fall slate with a weekend trip to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take aim in the Wake Forest Invitational. The three-day event is set for Nov. 3-5.  

Photo by Thomas Corhern