Top-Seeded Golden Eagles open OVC tournament play Saturday
Tennessee Tech tennis team won the regular season league title and enter with the top seed in this weekend's Ohio Valley Conference tournament at Helfin Tennis center in Paducah, Ky.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team defended its 2012 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title in impressive fashion by going a perfect 9-0 in league play this season. The Golden Eagles were rewarded with the No. 1 seed of the conference tournament, which is being held in Paducah, Ky. April 19-21.
Last season, the Golden Eagles went 8-0 in conference and earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament. They opened tournament play against Jacksonville State, winning the match on the last set when then sophomore Vasily Eremeev defeated Felipe Wenzel to give TTU the 4-3 advantage. This slated a championship match against a very good Eastern Kentucky team, who went on to defeat Tennessee Tech 4-1 and win the OVC crown.
This season, the Golden Eagles find themselves in similar shoes: a perfect record in the regular-season, and entering the tournament as the top seed. Tech senior, and 2013 OVC Player of the Year, Syrym Abdukhailikov went 9-0 in league play and 14-2 overall at the No. 1 singles spot. The senior from Almaty, Kazakhstan hasn't lost a singles match since March 20. He teamed up with sophomore Alejandro Augusto to post a 9-0 league mark and a 10-6 overall record at the No. 1 doubles spot. Abdukhailikov, a first-team All-OVC selection, is the eighth Golden Eagle to win this award and the first since Dan O'Brien won the honor in 2009.
Tech earned a first-round bye and will face either Jacksonville State or Belmont on Saturday at 2 pm. Tech defeated Belmont on March 17 in Cookeville, 5-2, and later defeated the Gamecocks 4-3 on April 3, also at home.
Tech is looking to win its first OVC Tournament since 2006. In that tournament, coach Randy Smith's team beat UT Martin, 4-0, and catured a 4-3 win over Samford in the title match to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Helfin Tennis center in Paducah, Ky.
WOMEN'S SCHEDULE
First Round – Friday, April 19
Match 1 - #6 Belmont 4, #3 Murray State 3
Match 2 - #4 Eastern Illinois 4, #5 Austin Peay 0
Semifinals – Saturday, April 20
Match 3 - #2 Jacksonville State vs. #6 Austin Peay – 10 a.m.
Match 4 - #1 Eastern Kentucky vs. #4 Eastern Illinois – 10 a.m.
Championship – Sunday, April 21
Match 5 – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner – 10 a.m.
MEN'S SCHEDULE
First Round - Friday, April 19
Match 1 - #3 Eastern Kentucky vs. #6 Morehead State – 2 p.m
Match 2 - #4 Jacksonville State vs. #5 Belmont – 2 p.m
Semifinals – Saturday, April 20
Match 3 - #2 Austin Peay vs. Match 1 winner – 2 p.m.
Match 4 - #1 Tennessee Tech vs. Match 2 winner – 2 p.m
Championship – Sunday, April 21
Match 5 – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner – 2 p.m.
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