MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Riding a two-match winning streak, the Eastern Kentucky University men's tennis team heads back on the road for two consecutive matches, traveling to face Middle Tennessee and Tennessee over the next week.
 
The Colonels will open the trip on Friday, Jan. 23, at Middle Tennessee (3-0) with an adjusted 2 p.m. ET start time due to impending winter weather in the region.
 
EKU will close the stretch at Tennessee (2-2) on Thursday, Jan. 29 with a 5 p.m. first serve. The Colonels were supposed to also play Ole Miss on this trip, ultimately being cancelled due to the expected winter storm.
 
Both EKU opponents this week appeared in the 2025 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship. Middle Tennessee captured its sixth consecutive Conference USA title last season, while Tennessee earned an at-large bid and advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Volunteers were the No. 14 overall seed and reached the NCAA Super Regionals.
 
EKU (2-3) enters the week having won two straight matches, earning true road victories over Butler, 4-3, and IU Indianapolis, 5-2.
 
Freshman Marek Nano was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Week after opening the spring season with a 3-1 singles record.
 
Nano recorded victories over ETSU's Martin Vergara (4-6, 6-3, 6-4), Butler's Nicolas Arts (3-6, 7-5, 6-3) and IU Indy's Konner Gunwall (4-6, 7-6, 10-5). His win over Vergara was the highest-rated victory (12.91 UTR) by an ASUN player to open the 2026 spring season.
 
Senior Preseason All-ASUN selection Nuno Pinheiro and fellow senior Fernando Bulnes also delivered key singles wins during opening week.
 
Playing at the No. 1 position, Pinheiro earned a straight-set victory over IU Indy's Eli Mercer (6-1, 6-2), while Bulnes secured a three-set win at No. 3 singles against ETSU's Peter Kalocsai (6-2, 4-6, 6-4).
 
Through five matches, the Colonels have been strong in doubles play, holding a 6-5 overall edge across all courts and have secured the doubles point in three of five matches.
 
EKU's top doubles team of Pinheiro and freshman Ilie Cazac carries a two-match winning streak into the week after posting wins over Butler (6-4) and IU Indianapolis (6-2).