Tech off to great start in OVC play; Both teams defeat Morehead State
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Each of the Tennessee Tech tennis
teams got its Ohio Valley Conference schedule started with a
convincing win Thursday over Morehead State, with the women posting
a 5-2 victory and the men claiming a 6-1 win.
Tech’s OVC slate continues Saturday when the Golden Eagles
host UT Martin in men’s and women’s matches beginning
at 2 p.m.
“It was a good day,” said first-year Golden Eagle
tennis coach Dan Silverstein. “I thought we played well all
the way up and down the lineup. It was great to play at home, and
exactly what we wanted to get the conference season
started.”
In the women’s contest, MSU won the doubles points but Tech
took five of the six singles events for the victory. At the point
when the match could have gone either way, Golden Eagle freshman
Tatiana Denezhkina pulled things together and rallied for a win at
No. 4 singles that clinched the match.
In men’s play, the Golden Eagles took the doubles point then
recorded straight set wins in five singles contests on the way to
the victory.
Morehead State grabbed wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles
positions to give the visiting Lady Eagles a 1-0 lead in the match.
Tech’s No. 2 duo of Kelly Holtzhausen and Denezhkina
outlasted Alexandra Rydberg and Megan Rozboril, 8-7, to avoid the
doubles sweep.
Holtzhausen improved to 6-0 in singles play, getting 6-2, 6-4 win
over Madeleinne Anterro at the No. 1 spot. The Golden Eagles made
it a 3-1 match with singles wins by Diana Woodcock at No. 5 and
Laura Porras at No. 6.
Morehead State had the lead at both the No. 2 and No. 3 matches, so
it looked as if Denezhkina needed to hold on at No. 4 to give the
Golden Eagles the victory. She took a 6-3 win in the first set, but
Rydberg rallied from a 5-2 defecit to tie the second set at 5-5.
Despite giving up seven points on double faults, Denezhkina was
able to hold on to win, 7-5, and jump in celebration of clinching
the day’s results.
Heather Butt held on to get Morehead State a win at No. 3, but over
on the second court, Barnhill fought back after dropping the first
set to win in three, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The Golden Eagle women improved to 2-4 overall and 1-0 in the
conference.
The Tech men saw their record improve to 4-5 overall and 1-0 in the
league with their win over the Eagles. The Golden Eagles won the
doubles point with victories at No. 1 and No. 3. In between,
Morehead State’s Greg Anderson and Bradley Bryan claimed a
tie-breaker to avoid the sweep.
Tech got straight set wins at five of the six singles slots to
chalk up the win. At No. 1, Dean O’Brien improved to 8-1 with
a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Dusan Milavanovic. Josh Girling, Justin
Kirstein and Mario Gutierrez each won for the second consecutive
day with straight set victories. At No. 5, Oscar Pachon got his
sixth straight win with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Nathan Blum.
Morhead State’s only point came at No. 2 singles, where Greg
Anderson earned a 6-2, 6-3 victory, snapping Alex Chen’s
three-match win streak.
Women’s Match
Tennessee Tech 5, Morehead State 2
Doubles Play
No. 1 – Butt/Delaney (MOR) def. Yartseva/Krutkina, 8-3
No. 2 – Holtzhausen/Denezhkina (TTU) def. Rydberg/Rozboril,
8-7
No. 3 – Lakow/Antero (MOR) def. Barnhill/Woodcock, 8-3
Singles Play
No. 1 – Kelly Holtzhausen (TTU) def. Madeleinne Anterro, 6-2,
6-4
No. 2 – Katie Barnhill (TTU) def. Megan Rozboril, 1-6, 6-3,
6-3
No. 3 – Heather Butt (MOR) def. Alena Krutkina, 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 – Tatiana Denezhkina (TTU) def. Alexandra Rydberg, 6-3,
7-5
No. 5 – Diana Woodcock (TTU def. Lauren Delaney, 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 – Laura Porras (TTU) def. Alix Lakow, 6-0, 6-2
Men’s Match
Tennessee Tech 6, Morehead State 1
Doubles Play
No. 1 – O’Brien/Girling (TTU) def. Wolfson/Milavanovic,
8-4
No. 2 – Anderson/Bryan (MOR) def. Chen/Gutierrez, 8-7
(7-4)
No. 3 – Kirstein/Pachon (TTU) def. Blum/Medcalf, 8-3
Singles Play
No. 1 – Dean O’Brien (TTU) def. Dusan Milavanovic, 6-1,
6-0
No. 2 – Greg Anderson (MOR) def. Alex Chen, 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 – Josh Girling (TTU) def. Jason Wolfson, 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 – Justin Kirstein (TTU) def. Bradley Bryan, 6-4,
6-4
No. 5 – Oscar Pachon (TTU) def. Nathan Blum, 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 – Mario Gutierrez (TTU) def. Charles Hodge, 6-0, 6-0
