By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Six combined singles victories coupled with four combined tandem triumphs was the story for the Tennessee Tech tennis team in its weekend competition at the Horizon League Individual Championships, hosted by Cleveland State.
Each Golden Eagle that made the trek up north collected at least one singles nod and one doubles triumph to help the purple and gold to a balanced and sturdy showing in one of club's premier events of the fall season.
The TTU tandem of Lucas Bitzer and Oliver Dao starred during doubles play on the way to three victories to place the purple and gold duo in the championship clash of the Main Doubles Draw. Bitzer and Dao first topped Tennessee State's Jonasz Dziopak and Chris Bogelin 8-4 in the first round before knocking off Youngstown State's Filip Avdeev and Matteo Ceradelli 8-7 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis.
Bitzer and Dao continued their momentum with an 8-2 nod over Cleveland State's Lincoln Battle and Carl Gedlitschka to advance to Sunday's final where the pair was ultimately upended 8-2 by Tennessee State's Rohan Loubser and Taj Hibbert.
Tech's other tandem of Alex Alvarez and Murilo Burckhardt posted a 1-1 account over the weekend. The purple and gold pair first secured an 8-7 win over Youngstown State's Onder Balci and Viktor van Craenbenboreck in the first round before falling to the same TSU tandem that topped Bitzer and Dao with an 8-6 defeat to Loubser and Hibbert in the quarterfinals.
Alvarez had a strong singles showing, serving as the only Golden Eagle to claim three victories to make it all the way to the semifinals in the Main Singles Draw. The Tech sophomore out of Barcelona, Spain earned a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Loubser in the opening round before rolling to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Northern Kentucky's Jackson Poulos in the second round. Alvarez then carded a comeback 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 victory over Youngstown State's Ander Balci to advance to the semifinals where his impressive run came to an end with a 6-0, 6-3 loss to Cleveland State's Lincoln Battle.
Battle also ended Oliver Dao's single surge after Dao first picked up a 7-6, 6-2 nod against IUI's Steve Paz in the first round. Battle took down Dao in the second round behind a 6-0, 6-1 win.
Murilo Burckhardt and Lucas Bitzer each bounced back after initial losses in the first round of the Main Singles Draw. Burckhardt fell 6-1, 7-6 to TSU's Taj Hibbert, but rebounded with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Youngstown State's Chester Wickwire in the Back Singles Draw. As far as Bitzer is concerned, the sophomore from Zurich, Switzerland was first upended 7-6, 6-2 to Belmont's Esunge Ndumbe, but responded with a 6-7, 7-6, 10-5 triumph against Cleveland State's Devin Boyer in the Back Singles Draw.
The Golden Eagles will now set their sights on the Brian Coons Fall Tournament Oct. 4-5 in Clarksville, Tenn.
Photo courtesy of Cleveland State Athletics
