COOKEVILLE, Tenn.– The Belmont men's tennis team defeated Tennessee Tech 4-3 in their OVC opener at the Tech Tennis Courts in Cookeville, Tenn Saturday afternoon.
The Bruins grabbed an early 1-0 lead after taking the doubles point with wins at one and three. At the top, Hendrik Inno and Marco Ilic defeated Fanis Kontopoulos and Lucca Silva 6-1 while at the three, Vincent Sterkens and Grant Kelly defeated Carlos Vicente and Rafael Tosetto 6-1.
In singles, Belmont posted wins at the top three spots clinching the victory for the Bruins. At one, Inno defeated Rafael Tosetto 6-4, 6-4. Ilic defeated Carlos Vicente 6-4, 6-4 at two, while at three, Joan Valy defeated Elias Grubert 7-6, 6-2
"I felt like we played pretty well today," said Mauricio Antun, Belmont's Director of Tennis. "Playing on the road in conference is always hard and being able to win against a good Tennessee Tech team in a tough environment shows us that when we compete well across the board and that we can beat anyone. I also liked how we were mentally tough on all six courts and picking up the doubles point was very important."
Up next, the Bruins (8-8, 1-0) travel to Jacksonville, Ala. where they face on Jacksonville State next Saturday followed by a home match against UAB on Sunday, March 31.
Belmont 4, Tennessee Tech 3
Singles
Hendrik Inno (BU) d. Rafael Tosetto (TTU) – 6-4, 6-4
Marko Ilic (BU) d. Carlos Vicente (TTU) – 6-4, 6-4
Joan Valy (BU) d. Elias Grubert (7-6, 6-2
Riku Kubota (TTU) d. Zak Khan (BU) – 6-4, 7-6
Wenceslao Albin (TTU) d. Vincent Sterkens (BU) – 6-3, 4-6, 10-4
Lucca Silva (TTU) d. Jake Briggs (BU) – 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
Inno/Ilic (BU) d. Fanis Kontopoulos/Silva (TTU) – 6-1
Albin/Kubota (TTU) d. Valy/Khan (BU) – 6-0
Sterkens/Kelly (BU) d. Vicente/Tosetto (TTU) – 6-1
Belmont – 8-8, 1-0
Tennessee Tech – 4-12, 0-1
