By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A busy weekend is on the books for the Tennessee Tech tennis team as the Golden Eagles will take to the courts on back-to-back days for a pair of non-conference clashes. The purple and gold will first head to UNC Asheville for a Saturday battle with the Bulldogs before Tech will square off with Penn on Sunday in a neutral-site meeting in Knoxville.
Saturday's match at The Asheville Racquet Club Downtown is set to start at 1 p.m. CT, while Sunday's contest at the Goodfriend Tennis Center is scheduled to get underway at 12:30 p.m. CT.
A live stream of Sunday's affair against Penn will be available. Click here to watch. Live stats will also be available. Click here to view.
A look at Tennessee Tech
Following their first win of the spring behind a 6-1 triumph over Austin Peay on Jan. 24, the Golden Eagles (1-5) have dropped consecutive contests with a 7-0 defeat at Chattanooga on Jan. 31 and a 4-0 loss to No. 14 Mississippi State on Feb. 2.
Tech's tangle in Starkville marked the club's third matchup against a nationally ranked opponent as well as fourth tilt against a "Power 4" foe. The Golden Eagles have also locked up at No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 13 Tennessee and Vanderbilt this year.
Alex Alvarez, Murilo Burckhardt, Darek Kuczynski, Elia Lauper and Ricard Garavi Yepez all have picked up a singles win this spring. Alvarez and Burckhardt join Oliver Dao and Davids Spaks as the four Golden Eagles with a doubles triumph as well this season.
TTU's matches against UNC Asheville and Penn will mark the second and final time this regular season that Tech will play on back-to-back days. The Golden Eagles opened the year playing No. 4 Wake Forest on Jan. 12 before taking on No. 13 Tennessee on Jan. 13.
A look at UNC Asheville
Saturday's match with the Golden Eagles will mark UNC Asheville's first contest against a Division I opponent this spring. The Bulldogs (3-0) boast a perfect record behind a 5-2 win against Lenoir-Rhyne, a 7-0 triumph over King and a 4-3 victory against Tusculum. The club hasn't been in action since Jan. 25 in the narrow nod over Tusculum.
Tarek Erlewein and Freddy Murray are the only two Bulldogs to possess a 3-0 mark during singles play. Murray has done all of his work exclusively out of the top solo spot, while Erlewein has gone 1-0 out of the No. 2 position and 2-0 out of the No. 3 slot. Murray and Cian Ingles also led the squad with undefeated 3-0 records during doubles action.
UNC Asheville is coming off a 16-8 overall record in 2024 with a 3-1 Big South account. The squad went on to win the Big South Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament, where they were upended 4-0 by No. 13 Duke in the opening round.
A look at Penn
Before locking up with Tech on Sunday, the Quakers (5-0) will take on No. 19 Tennessee on Saturday. Penn's perfect mark to begin the spring has featured two victories over Navy as well as wins against Virginia Tech, Yale and Saint Joseph's. All five matches have been home affairs with Saturday's tangle at Tennessee serving as the club's first road tilt.
Shaurya Bharadwaj leads the squad with an unblemished 5-0 singles record. The 6-foot freshman out of Charlotte, N.C. has appeared in three spots in the solo lineup, going 1-0 in the No. 3 spot, 3-0 in the No. 4 position and 1-0 in the No. 5 slot. Manfredi Graziani has the second-most singles wins on the team behind a 4-1 ledger, all out of the top position. Graziani and Bharadwaj have also combined for the club's best doubles mark thanks to a 5-0 record.
Penn went 16-12 in 2024 and 2-5 in the Ivy League.
Inside the series
Tech's tussle with UNC Asheville will be the 10th all-time get-together. The Bulldogs hold a 5-4 edge, which includes 6-1 victories in each of the last two years.
Sunday's meeting with Penn will mark the first in the all-time series.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
