Tech men sweep singles to top Morehead State, 6-1
Following an exciting doubles competition that saw two matches decided in a tie-breaker, the Tennessee Tech men’s tennis team won all six singles matches against Morehead State on Tuesday to capture a 6-1 victory at MSU’s Sadler Courts.
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Following an exciting doubles competition that saw two matches decided in a tie-breaker, the Tennessee Tech men’s tennis team won all six singles matches against Morehead State on Tuesday to capture a 6-1 victory at MSU’s Sadler Courts.
Tech handed the Eagles their first loss on their home court this season and now has a three-match winning streak. The Golden Eagles, in second place in the OVC standings, improved to 8-4 overall and 5-1 in the OVC, while Morehead State dropped to 10-7 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
Down one match to none in the doubles competition, the Golden Eagle No. 1 and No. 2 teams both went to tie-breaks to decide which team would win the doubles point. Both tie-breaks finished with an 8-6 score, but Tech was on the winning end of just one of the matches, giving MSU the early 1-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles rebounded in singles, winning all six matches in straight sets.
Alex Chen defeated Jerry Sundgren at No. 1 (6-4, 6-4) to improve to 8-3 this spring atop the Golden Eagle lineup. Josh Girling remained perfect in conference play at the No. 2 singles position for Tech as he won (6-2, 6-2) against Greg Anderson. Girling now boasts a 6-0 record in the OVC.
Nicholas Stafford and Justin Kirstein followed suit in the middle of the Tech lineup, winning at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Stafford handled Bradley Bryan (7-6, 6-1), and Kirstein defeated Nathan Blum (6-4, 6-3).
At the bottom of the Golden Eagle lineup, Arturo Santa Ruiz and Oscar Pachon completed the singles sweep of the Eagles. Santa Ruiz won (6-3, 6-2) over Dusan Milovanovic at No. 5 and Pachon was victorious (6-3, 6-4) over Nathan Martin. Both Santa Ruiz and Pachon improved to 4-2 in the OVC this season.
The Golden Eagles have just one more OVC match prior to the conference tournament, which is slated for April 16-18. Tech takes on Tennessee State on Friday, April 9 in their final match this season at the Tech Tennis Courts with matches scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
