Featured photo by Matt Posey
Story by Samuel Demonbreun
Murfreesboro, TN- The Blue Raiders treated fans to a fantastic day of tennis as MTSU takes down in-state opponents Tennessee Tech and UT Southern in a double-header of matches Friday at the Adams Tennis Complex.
After dropping two matches on the road and two cancelled matches in the last month, the inconsistent play and schedule were not a concern for head coach Jimmy Borendame.
“The cancellations have been a little unfortunate, but kind of out of our control,” Borendame said. “So, to be honest, we just try to focus on always improving every time we step out on the court.”
The Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech rolled into Murfreesboro having seemingly found their footing after winning four of their last five matches, improving their record to 4-11.
However, Middle Tennessee quickly thwarted any hope of a Golden Eagles upset as it clinched the doubles point 2-0 with the help of senior duo Pavel Motl and Stijn Slump winning their match 6-2.
“It’s always great when you get that 1-0 lead before singles,” Motl said. “So, I think it helped us a lot to get a little bit more confident.”
Freshman Shu Matsuoka started hot in his match on court six and didn’t let up extending the Blue Raider lead to 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 pummeling of Tennessee Tech’s Jaime Paquet.
On court five Marcel Kamrowski played his best tennis of the season in a dominant 6-1, 6-3 thrashing of freshman Paolo Ramos Martin.
“Well, today is actually a special day, our seniors playing their last match at home, so I think we played pretty good today and I was confident about my game,” freshman Marcel Kamrowski said. “So that’s why I think we played good today.”
Ondrej Horak’s continued dominance on court four proved to be the nail in the coffin for Tennessee Tech. Horak won 6-2, 6-2 over Pol Masafret.
This pushed MTSU’s record to 17-7 and dropped Tennessee Tech to 4-12 on the season.
After a quick intermission and an emotional senior night presentation, the show continued as UT Southern took the courts to play spoiler to MTSU’s special night.
The Firehawks from Pulaski came into the ATC with a 12-6 record and are fresh off a win against Georgetown (KY).
But the boys in blue extinguished the Firehawks in the doubles point clinching it on the backs of fired up seniors Francisco Rocha, Pavel Motl, and Stijn Slump.
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” Stijn Slump said after his last home match. “It’s been five years playing at home. It’s something I can’t really describe with words right now. It’s something so special and I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to get to play here. It’s been an absolute pleasure.”
The Blue Raiders were too much for UT Southern to handle as all six MTSU players won their match with ease.
Samuel Demonbreun is a sports reporter for MTSU Sidelines. If you have information for a story, you can contact him at [email protected].
