The Blue Raiders turned the ‘Battle in the Boro’ into a statement weekend, sweeping all three matches to remain unbeaten at home.
“It’s tough to play against us here in Murfreesboro,” junior Birtan Duran said.
The home atmosphere is what drives this team with great supporters who show out every match, head coach Jimmy Borendame said.
Middle Tennessee opened the tournament Friday with a commanding 4-0 victory over the University of Utah Utes, setting the tone with dominant doubles play and singles wins. The nationally ranked No. 38 tandem of Karim Al-Amin and Ondrej Horak secured a 7-6 (7-2) tiebreak win at No. 1 doubles, while Eric Crivei and Jonasz Dziopak handled the No. 2 spot, winning 6-2 to clinch the opening point.
In singles, Dziopak cruised 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3, freshman Santiago Lora added a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 6. Senior Freddy Murray rallied from a 3-0 first-set deficit to win 7-5, 6-4 at No. 5, sealing the sweep before Utah could capitalize on competitive unfinished courts.
Saturday’s matchup against the Old Dominion Monarchs proved far more dramatic.
Once again, doubles add early momentum. Al-Amin and Horak delivered a 6-3 win at No. 1, and the freshman pairing of Houston Jacques and Antoine Mayoral earned a 6-4 victory at No. 3 to claim the doubles point.
Middle Tennessee extended its lead quickly in singles play. Horak earned a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 1, and Al-Amin rebounded from a first-set loss to defeat Felix Obermair 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, pushing the Blue Raiders ahead 3-0.
Old Dominion responded with three straight wins to tie the match at 3-3. Jonasz Dziopak fell in three sets at No. 3, Eric Crivei dropped a tight battle at No. 4, and Piet Steveker just beat Murray in a grueling 6-1, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5 contest at No. 6.
With everything resting on No. 5, Duran rose to the moment. After losing the first set in a tiebreak, Duran answered with a second-set tiebreak win before pulling away 6-2 in the third to clinch the 4-3 victory.
“I was kind of nervous, because everything was going to depend on my match,” Duran said. “I found a way to win thanks to my teammates and my coaches helping me.”
The resilience carried into Sunday’s finale against the Rice Owls, though this time Middle Tennessee faced early adversity. Rice captured the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3, handing the Blue Raiders their first doubles deficit of the weekend.
Crivei tied the match at 1-1 with a 7-5, 6-1 win at No. 5. Al-Amin followed with a steady 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 2 to give Middle Tennessee the lead. Duran added a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 4, and Murray closed the tournament emphatically with a 6-0, 6-3 performance at No. 6 to secure the 4-1 result.
With the victory, the Blue Raiders improved to 9-0 at home this season, reinforcing the Adams Tennis Complex as a difficult venue for opponents.
Middle Tennessee now turns its focus to Friday when it hosts No. 19 Princeton at 5 p.m. CDT.
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