Golden Eagles sweep Murray State, 7-0, to open conference slate
The Tennessee Tech tennis team swept Murray State, 7-0, Saturday to open Ohio Valley Conference play with their 17th consecutive regular season league victory. Sunday's match with Austin Peay has been postponed due to anticipated cold and poor weather.
Sunday match with Austin Peay postponed
By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The only real drama Saturday came early in the day, when Tennessee Tech's No. 1 doubles team fought all the way back from a huge deficit to capture its match.
Even that win was a bit anticlimactic, though, since the other two Golden Eagle doubles pairs had already walked off the court with wins, clinching the doubles point and a 1-0 lead.
Tech then swept all six singles points on the way to a 7-0 victory over Murray State in the first Ohio Valley Conference match of the season for both teams. For Tech, playing its first home match of the year after nine contests on the road, the win was the 17th consecutive in OVC regular season play. The Golden Eagles (2-8/1-0 OVC) are bidding to claim their third straight OVC regular season crown after posting 8-0 records in league matches each of the last two seasons.
Murray State slipped to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in the OVC.
The Golden Eagles were scheduled to be back on their home courts Sunday against Austin Peay, but that match has been postponed due to cold conditions and anticipated rain. A makeup date has not been set, but will be announced on TTUsports.com.
Gagan Jain (in photo above) and Alvaro Cintas set the tone in rolling to an 8-1 win in the No. 3 doubles spot over David Hess and Mateo Barroetevena. Shortly after, Vasily Eremeev and Artem Tarasov clinched an 8-2 win over Nicholas and Alezs Mitric in the No. 2 doubles court for the point.
Over on the first court, Oleksiy Arovin and Alberto Esteban had a slow start, trailing 5-1 against Adam Taylor and Max McLean. The MSU pair was up 6-2 before Tech's top duo went to work. They brought it back to a 6-5 difference, but dropped the next point and trailed 7-5. They treated the fans to a fantastic finish, winning the next three points and tie-breaker for an 8-7 (1) victory and the doubles sweep.
The singles matches went to Tech, five of six in straight sets. Arovin beat Taylor, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 1, to improve to 8-2 in dual matches this spring. At No. 2, Esteban downed McLean, 6-1, 7-5, and Eremeev added a 6-0, 6-2 win over Nicholas Mitric at No. 3. In the No. 4 spot, Cintas swept to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alexs Mitric, and the other straight set win came at No. 6, where Gonzalo Munoz downed Anjan Kashyab, 6-0, 6-2.
The only lengthy battle came at No. 5, where Jain beat Hess, 6-0, 3-6, 6-2.
Tennessee Tech 7, Murray State 0
Tech Tennis Courts, Cookeville, Tenn.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Singles
No. 1 - Oleksiy Arovin (Tech) def. Adam Taylor, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 - Alberto Esteban (Tech) def. Max McLean, 6-1, 7-5
No. 3 - Vasily Eremeev (Tech) def. Nicholas Mitric, 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 - Alvaro Cintas (Tech) def. Aleks Mitric, 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 - Gagan Jain (Tech) def. David Hess, 6-0, 3-6, 6-2
No. 6 - Gonzalo Munoz (Tech) def. Anjan Kashyab, 6-0, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 - Arovin/Esteban (Tech) def. Taylor/McLean, 8-7 (1)
No. 2 - Artem Tarasov/Eremeev (Tech) def. Mitric/Mitric, 8-2
No. 3 - Cintas/Jain (Tech) def. Hess/Mateo Barroetevena, 8-1
Records:
Tech 2-8/1-0 OVC
Murray State 1-6/0-1 OVC
