The Tennessee Tech tennis team opened up at home with a win against Chattanooga Thursday, Feb. 28. They won in convincing fashion 6-1 bringing them to a 2-2 record.
“It’s nice to get the first home win,” said Kenny Doyle coach of the Golden Eagles. “We always have a competitive match with Chattanooga.”
The match started with doubles, where the Golden Eagles’ top two positions took care of business. The No. 1 team, senior Alex Arovin and junior Alberto Esteban, beat Chattanooga senior John Peacey and junior Lucas Plesky 6-2. The No. 2’s, sophomore Eduardo Mena and freshman Guillermo Nicolas, clinched the second point, 6-4 for the Golden Eagles against UTC senior Luke Saunders and junior Nic Wilson.
The Golden Eagles continued their success in singles play taking five of six matches from UTC (3-4). The OVC Preseason No. 1 ranked player, Mena, stayed hot and won his match 6-3, 6-3 against Peacey. The win gives him a perfect 4-0 record this year.
No. 2 Arovin had a tough match against UTC’s Plesky. Arovin won the first game but lost the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Esteban won his match 6-2, 6-4 against Nick Wingord from the three spot, while Tech’s Carlos Tajes clinched the team match with his win over Pablo Llebeili from the No. 6 spot claiming his first victory of the young season in singles play.
Jorge Alfonzo won his battle with UTC’s Derrick Brown 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 from the No. 5 position.
The longest match of the day came from Tech’s Guillermo Nicolas and Saunders. Nicolas prevailed with a 7-5, 7-5 victory putting the finishing touches on the day.
“The whole team played well, everybody contributed to the win in both singles and doubles,” said Doyle. “If we treat each match as a championship match, no matter who we’re playing, prepare and have fun we will be successful.”
The Golden Eagles travel to the University of Tennessee Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. “We look forward to traveling to there,” said Doyle. “It’s always a good environment and a good test.”
