SEMIFINAL'S SCORES
#2 Eastern Kentucky 4, #6 Belmont 1
#1 Tennessee Tech 4, #4 Jacksonville State 2
#2 EASTERN KENTUCKY 4, #6 BELMONT 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The EKU men's tennis team will have a chance to defend its Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship on Sunday after picking up a 4-1 win over Belmont University in Saturday's semifinal match at the Centennial Sportsplex.
EKU will take on the 2016 regular season champion, Tennessee Tech, in Sunday's championship match. Sunday's match is scheduled for 10 a.m.
The Colonels (19-11) fell behind 1-0 after the Bruins won the doubles point, but EKU staged a rally to take four straight singles points to advance.
Sophomore Ramon van Flymen rolled to a 6-4, 6-0 win at the No. 1 spot to even the score at one apiece, before Diogo Soares tallied his 14th straight singles win to give the Colonels a 2-1 advantage.
Senior Florian Graskamp rallied with a third set win at No. 6 to put the Colonels within one of a chance to defend their title. Graskamp dropped the second set but cruised to a convincing 6-0 win the third to give EKU a 3-1 lead.
Senior Alex Álvaro and freshman Guillem Sanchis both led in their respective matches, but it was Sanchis' win at the No. 3 spot that proved to be the deciding match.
The Colonels have won four OVC Tournament titles under Oertel.
#1 TENNESSEE TECH 4, #4 JACKSONVILLE STATE 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech tennis team is now within an eyelash of reaching the pinnacle after knocking off No . 4 Jacksonville State, 4-2, in Saturday's semifinal action at the 2016 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament from the Centennial Sportsplex Tennis Center. The top-seeded Golden Eagles (14-6, 9-0) will play for all the marbles come Sunday morning, taking on No. 2 Eastern Kentucky in the championship match at 10 a.m. CT with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Despite dropping the doubles point to the Gamecocks (10-15), Tech took care of business in singles play, soaring to the tune of victories in four of the five affairs to take a stranglehold of the match. Sophomore Eduardo Mena, the OVC's Player of the Year, needed only two sets to dispose of senior Pedro Wagner, capturing the No. 1 battle with a 6-3, 6-4 nod for the Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native's 13th straight singles win.
Mena's two-set winner would prove to be the only one of the match as the other four singles tilts went right down to the wire, needing three sets apiece for their conclusion.
Guillermo Nicolas, the OVC's Freshman of the Year, used a huge final set to slide past fellow freshman Vinicio Hadlich in the No. 4 spot, seizing the finale 6-0 after winning the first set, 6-2, before Hadlich took down the second one, 6-4.
Junior Alberto Esteban, an All-OVC first teamer, edged junior Mathias Chaim in the No. 3 slot, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3, while sophomore Marcos Bernardes topped freshman Andres Gomez in the No. 5 position, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
JSU's lone singles nod came in the No. 2 spot, using a Jaryd Reese 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory over senior Alex Arovin, an All-OVC second teamer. Sophomore Jorge Alfonzo's clash against freshman Shao Chun Liu in the No. 6 slot did not finish.
The Gamecocks collected early momentum in the match behind a grasp of the doubles point, taking two of the three tilts. The tandem of Andres Gomez and Shao Chun Liu took down Alex Arovin and Alberto Esteban, 6-2, in the No. 1 slot, and the duo of Pedro Wagner and Mathias Chaim notched a 6-4 win over Jorge Alfonzo and Guillermo Nicolas in the No. 3 spot.
Eduardo Mena and Marcos Bernardes collected a 6-3 victory against Jaryd Reese and Austin McCormick in the No. 2 position.