Photo by Delaney Dickey / MTSU Sidelines
Story by Nathan Vaughan / Sports Reporter
The Middle Tennessee men’s tennis team made their trip to Johnson City, Tennessee, for its final away match of the regular season on Wednesday for a date with a tough East Tennessee State on its Senior Day.
Ranked as the No. 43 team in the ITA rankings, the Blue Raiders struck first by winning the doubles point at the No. 1 and No. 2 matches. Gonzalo Morrell Raschiatore and Miguel Negre Fernandez got Middle Tennessee going early with a 6-1 win in the first spot, while Chris Edge and Tom Moonen clinched the point with a 6-3 win in the second match.
Raschiatore and Fernandez kept their hot streaks going into single play, as Morell won in straight sets by a tally of 6-3, 6-3. Fernandez won as well, although it took all three sets, by a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 score. Senior Gian Issa tallied the match-clinching victory at the fifth spot with a 6-3, 6-2 straight-set victory.
With that win, Issa now sits at sixth in all-time singles victories at Middle Tennessee, and he still has a chance to climb higher as the season continues.
The Blue Raiders are now 20-4 on the season after their eighth consecutive win. They will host South Alabama on Saturday at 2 p.m. for their final match of the 2018 season.
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