MT Wins Big Against No. 46 Louisville

Wednesday, February 3

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

3:30 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

No. 46 Louisville

2/3/2016 7:14:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Raiders Sweep Singles, Win 6-1

By: @MTAthletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – With a dominant singles performance at the Adams Tennis Complex, Middle Tennessee was able to get the best of Atlantic Coast Conference foe Louisville 6-1 on Wednesday.

Middle Tennessee (3-2) entered the match looking to bounce back after a tough loss on the road at Pennsylvania, while Louisville (3-4) came into the match sporting the No. 46 spot in the ITA rankings.

Louisville started off with the upper hand, taking a hard contedted doubles point from the Blue Raiders.with wins on courts two and three.

Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore and Ayed Zatar Cordero finished first on court one, defeating Louisville's Alex Gornet and Jeffrey Brown 6-3. Both Louisville doubles wins came in dramatic fashion, as Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Christian Haushammer defeated Middle Tennessee's Gian Issa and Miguel Negre Fernandez 7-6 (7-3) before Courtney Lock and Sean Donohue defeated Luis Morillo Diaz and Dima Zyhmantovich 7-6 (7-1) to secure the first point of the match.

Diaz began the singles sweep for Middle Tennessee in the No. 6 singles spot, quickly defeating Lock 6-4, 6-2. Diaz was followed by Blue Raider teammate Issa, who won 7-5, 6-3 against Carlos Longhi Neto in the No. 4 spot.

Negre brought home the third point for Middle Tennessee in the No. 5 singles spot when he joined Diaz and Issa with a straight-set win of his own, downing Brandon Lancaster 6-3, 6-4. The deciding point of the match was clinched in the No 3. singles spot by Zatar, winning a three-set match against Morin-Kougoucheff by a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Morell soon cruised to victory in the No. 1 spot with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Louisville's Gornet, leaving it all down to Zyhmantovich to complete the singles sweep. Zyhmantovich did just that in spectacular fashion.

The senior, playing in the No. 2 singles spot, dropped the first set 4-6 before coming back to win a second set tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4) to force a third set. With the team win already clinched by Middle Tennessee, Zyhmantovich and Louisville's Brown played a tiebreaker for the match with Zyhmantovich coming from behind once again to win it 13-11.

"It was an awesome environment in the Adams Tennis Complex tonight and I want to thank all of the fans for their support," head coach Jimmy Borendame said. " The guys played amazing and I am proud of the way we fought."

Next up for Middle Tennessee is a home doubleheader with Murray State on Friday at the Adams Tennis Complex. The Blue Raiders and Racers will begin the first match at 1:00 p.m.

Louisville vs. Middle Tennessee
Feb. 3, 2016 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
(Adams Tennis Complex)
Middle Tennessee 6, #46 Louisville 1

Singles competition
1. Gonzalo Morell (MT) def. Alex Gornet (LOU) 7-5, 6-1
2. Dima Zyhmantovich (MT) def. Jeffrey Brown (LOU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (13-11)
3. Ayed Zatar Cordero (MT) def. C. Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
4. Gian Issa (MT) def. Carlos Longhi Neto (LOU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Miguel Negre (MT) def. Brandon Lancaster (LOU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Luis Morillo Diaz (MT) def. Courtney Lock (LOU) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Gonzalo Morell/Ayed Zatar Cordero (MT) def. Alex Gornet/Jeffrey Brown (LOU) 6-3
2. C. Morin-Kougoucheff/Christian Haushammer (LOU) def. Gian Issa/Miguel Negre (MT) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Courtney Lock/Sean Donohue (LOU) def. Luis Morillo Diaz/Dima Zyhmantovich (MT) 7-6 (7-1)

Match Notes:
Louisville 3-4; National ranking #46
Middle Tennessee 3-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,4,5,3,1,2)