COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State men's tennis team fell 5-2 Saturday to Tennessee Tech at the Tech Tennis Courts.
 
Despite beginning the match with a doubles win, Jax State (8-5, 2-1 OVC) couldn't overcome a strong singles showing by the Golden Eagles (6-5, 3-0 OVC) as the Gamecocks dropped their first Ohio Valley Conference contest of the season.
 
JSU earned the match's first point, taking two of three doubles sets. Thomas Norwood and Aljaz Kaplja won 7-6 in the first set with a 7-5 tiebreaker, and Maj Tomac and Joaquin Vallejo won the third set 6-3 to put the Gamecocks up 1-0.
 
TTU went on to take the first five singles contest to claim the match. Jacksonville State's lone singles point came in a three-set melee at No. 2. Tomac outlasted Evzen Holis and overcame a 6-4 loss in the first set to salvage a second point for his team. The freshman rallied back with a 6-3 in in the second set before taking the game with a decisive 6-1 win in the third stanza.
 
Jordi Blanchar put up a tough fight with Mika Berghaus at No. 6 but came away emptyhanded. The first set went to a tiebreaker, but the JSU senior eventually fell 7-6 and dropped the second set 6-2.
 
Jacksonville State looks to get back on track Saturday, April 10 with a nonconference match at Georgia State. The contest is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Atlanta. JSU returns to OVC play Saturday, April 17 when it hosts Tennessee State at the JSU Tennis Courts.
 
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