Eastern Kentucky captures 5-2 OVC win over Golden Eagles
Eastern Kentucky put a point on the scoreboard with a pair of doubles victories, then polished off wins in four of the six singles bouts to capture a 5-2 win over Tennessee Tech in the midst of a heated race to claim spots in the OVC Tournament.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Saturday's Ohio Valley Conference match
against Eastern Kentucky might not have been a "must win" contest
for the Tennessee Tech tennis team. Depending on how the standing
shape up Sunday morning, the Golden Eagles might still have a slim
chance of reaching the conference tournament with a win over
Morehead State.
Then again, a 5-2 loss to the Colonels may have eliminated Tech
from reach the post-season. Tech heads into Sunday's match against
the Eagles with a 3-5 OVC record, but a win over MSU would leave
both teams at 4-5 in the league and give TTU the tie-breaker. It's
such a logjam for the final two spots in the six-team tournament,
that the league office was burning the midnight oil trying to sort
out the scenarios.
Even Eastern Kentucky hasn't assured itself of a spot in the field
with the win, as the Colonels must face Jacksonville State on
Sunday. The Gamecocks clinched a share of the regular season title
with their win Saturday over Morehead State.
Saturday on Tech's campus courts, the Colonels put a point on the
scoreboard with a pair of doubles victories, then polished off wins
in four of the six singles bouts for the 5-2 win.
Alex Alvaro and Sebastian Mueller grabbed an 8-3 win over Vasily
Eremeev and Artem Tarasov in the No. 2 spot, while Flo Graskamp and
Alberto Tintore recorded an 8-2 win over Tech's Alvaro Cintas and
Gagan Jain.
Tech's two points came in the No. 1 and No. 5 slots. On the first
court, sophomore Oleksiy Arovin made quick work of Daridge Saidi
for a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 1. Arovin improved to 21-10 this season
overall and 7-1 in OVC matches against the league's best. In the
No. 5 spot. Cintas also swept to a win in straight sets, downing
Mueller, 6-0, 6-2.
Esteban and Eremeev each went three sets before bowing. At No. 2,
Esteban dropped a 3-6, 7-5, 10-4 contest to Alex Alvaro, while in
the No. 4 match, it was Graskamp outlasting Eremeev, 4-6, 6-2,
6-3.
Eastern Kentucky 5, Tennessee Tech 2
Cookeville, Tenn. / Tech campus courts
Singles
No. 1 - Oleksiy Arovin
(TTU) def. Daridge Saidi, 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 - Alex Alvaro (EKU) def. Alberto
Esteban, 3-6, 7-5, 10-4
No. 3 - Juanja de la Lleva (EKU) def. Gagan Jain, 6-3.
6-4
No. 4 - Flo Graskamp (EKU) def. Vasily Eremeev,
4-6, 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 - Alvaro Cintas
(TTU) def. Sebastian Mueller, 6-0, 6-2
No. 6 - Joao Maio (EKU) def. Artem Tarasov,
6-3, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 - Arovin/Esteban (TTU) vs. de la Lleva/Diego Asis, DNF
No. 2 - Alvaro/Mueller (EKU) def. Eremeev/Tarasov, 8-3
No. 3 - Graskamp/Alberto Tintore (EKU) def. Cintas/Jain, 8-2
