Middle Tennessee men\u2019s tennis (19-8) split a Friday doubleheader, dropping the first match 4-3 to No. 68 Memphis (12-11, 1-1 AAC), followed by defeating Bellarmine University (5-14) 7-0 in the second match at the Outdoor Tennis Complex.<\/p>\n
Memphis<\/p>\n
No. 48 Middle Tennessee men\u2019s tennis dropped its ranked contest on senior day to No. 68 Memphis, 4-3, dropping three courts in the final set.<\/p>\n
The Blue Raiders were unable to secure the doubles point, with Birtan Duran and Jonasz Dziopak falling 6-4 to Memphis\u2019 Obrad Markovski and Marko Milosalvjevic.<\/p>\n
Ondrej Horak and Antoine Mayoral defeated Sam Reeve and Rensing Lasse 7-5 to tie the doubles courts at one a piece. Karim Al-Amin and Eric Crivei dropped the decisive doubles point 7-6 to Memphis\u2019 Maxime Dubouch and Moritz Kudernatsch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey [Memphis] played well,\u201d MTSU head coach Jimmy Borendame said. \u201cI thought there was some moments where we could\u2019ve done better, we learn from it and get ready for the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n
In singles competition, Crivei secured the first point for the Blue Raiders, defeating Memphis\u2019 Marcos Fabra Castro 6-1, 6-0, extending his winning streak to five matches.<\/p>\n
Freddy Murray fell 6-1, 6-0 against Milosalvjevic on court six, the Blue Raiders trailing two courts to one.<\/p>\n
Horak fought tooth and nail with Kudernatsch, splitting the first two sets 6-0, 6-3, before taking the third set 6-0, knotting the score at two apiece.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in my head on the first set,\u201d Horak said. \u201cI knew I had to reset my mindset, I changed my game a little bit, I was risking on my first set but it paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duran fell 6-4, 7-6 against Leandro Zgraggen, with two courts remaining.<\/p>\n
The Blue Raiders notched their third singles point with Dziopak defeating Markovski, splitting the first two sets 6-4, 6-0, before Dziopak won 7-6 in the third set tiebreaker due to a poor sportsmanship violation from Memphis.<\/p>\n
The decisive court saw Al-Amin and Dubouch split the first two sets 7-6, 7-6, before Al-Amin fell short in the third set 6-3, giving the Tigers the 4-3 victory.<\/p>\n
Bellarmine<\/p>\n
The Blue Raiders secured the doubles point in the second game, with Dziopak and Crivei defeating Ryan Parkins and Eli Wood 6-2, quickly followed by Horak and Mayoral defeating Colby Berson and Matthew Nice 6-2.<\/p>\n
Just like the Memphis game, Crivei secured the first singles point for the Blue Raiders, taking down Alex English 6-0, 6-1.<\/p>\n
The Blue Raiders secured the remaining five singles points, with Murray defeating Berson 6-0, 6-2, and Al-Amin defeating Nice 6-3, 6-3 to secure the victory for the Blue Raiders with three courts remaining. Mayoral then beat Zak Vince 6-3, 6-2, followed by Duran taking down Wood 7-5, 6-3, and Dziopak defeating Parkins 6-4, 6-3.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is to make the Sweet 16,\u201d Horak said about the impending conference tournament. \u201cIt\u2019s not gonna be easy, we still gotta work hard for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Blue Raiders\u2019 regular season comes to a close, and they\u2019ll look ahead to the Conference USA tournament, which will be hosted in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from April 17-19.<\/p>\n
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