By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Athletics Media Relations
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Taking aim in one of the premier events of the fall, the Tennessee Tech tennis team put together another sturdy showing with a series of wins in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional, hosted by Purdue.
Fresh off back-to-back doubles championships in the last two fall events, Alex Alvarez and Davids Spaks once again soared to the tune of two straight victories to make their way into the Round of 16 in the Main Draw. The Tech tandem began their run with an 8-5 victory over Butler's Nicholas Balthazor and Siddhartha Lama in the Round of 64 before Alvarez and Spaks collected a narrow 8-7 (7-4) nod over ETSU's Arenui Luethi and Peter Kalocsai in the Round of 32.
The Golden Eagle duo would ultimately fall in a close one to the host Purdue with an 8-6 defeat by the Boilermaker tandem of Aleksa Krivokapic and Maj Premzl in the Round of 16.
Tech's other doubles partnership of Oliver Dao and Murilo Burckhardt was upended, 8-2, by Dayton's Kyle McNally and Dylan Jaen in the Round of 64.
"I thought we played very well against some of the best competition in one of the toughest regions in the country," TTU head coach Mark Klysner said. "We had some nice wins in singles and had to fight through some injuries and illnesses this time around that probably affected some of the results. As for doubles, we continued to excel, especially Davids and Alex who kept it rolling with two huge wins in the Main Draw before falling in the Round of 16 to the eventual champs. It was honestly a match they could have won and I have no doubt the result would have been different if either guy wasn't battling lingering injuries. But overall, I couldn't be prouder of our team and the way they performed in this tournament."
As far as singles play is concerned, two Golden Eagles picked up a victory in the Main Draw behind wins from Dao and Burckhardt. Dao secured a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Xavier's Alexander Kotarski in the Round of 64, while Burckhardt took home a 7-6, 6-7, 11-9 nod against Belmont's Bautista Rojo Durrels in the Round of 64 as well.
Dao would go on to drop his next clash with a 4-6, 7-6, 10-1 loss to Louisville's Matei Cristian Onofrei in the Round of 32, while Burckhardt also fell in the Round of 32 with a 6-0, 6-2 defeat to Chattanooga's Julian Franzmann.
Ricard Garavi Yepez was tripped up in the Round of 64 with a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Eastern Kentucky's Filip Avdeev, but the Golden Eagle sophomore out of Spain bounced back with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Butler's Nicholas Balthazor in the Consolation Bracket.
Alex Alvarez rounded out Tech's singles showing in the Main Draw with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat to Indiana's Michael Andre in the Round of 64. The 5-foot-11 junior out Barcelona, Spain then retired in his Consolation Bracket meeting with Belmont's Vineet Ramesh.
Oliver Dao and Murilo Burckhardt also fell in their consolation clashes to wrap up their stay in West Lafayette. Dao was upended 7-5, 5-7, 10-4 to Lipscomb's Henrique Ushizima and Burkhardt was narrowly edged by Xavier's Alexander Kotarski in a 3-6, 6-3, 18-16 marathon.
The Golden Eagles will now look to their final event of the fall, setting their sights on the UTC Steve Baras Invite in Chattanooga. The three-day, weekend tournament is set for Friday, Oct. 24 through Sunday, Oct. 26.
