MT Celebrates Senior Day with a Win

Saturday, April 14

Murfreesboro, Tenn. - Adams Tennis Complex

2 PM

Middle Tennessee

Georgia State

4/14/2018 5:14:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Blue Raiders wrap up the regular season with a 4-1 victory

By: @MTAthletics

MT vs. Georgia State results
Season Statistics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.– Middle Tennessee closed out the regular season and celebrated its three seniors with a 4-1 win over Georgia State at the Adams Tennis Complex on Saturday.

"Senior day is a tough one; there's a lot of emotion," MT head coach Jimmy Borendame said. "These guys rise to the occasion continually. They keep fighting. That's a great trait for any team."

The Blue Raiders took the first point in the match by winning in doubles on courts two and three, despite close scores on all three courts. Seniors Gian Issa and Jan Porteset pulled away late in the match for a 6-4 win, followed by Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore and senior Miguel Negre Fernandez at No. 2, 6-2. Tom Moonen and Chris Edge were leading 5-3 but unable to finish their match at No. 1.

In singles play, Luis Morillo Diaz was first to finish, taking the win at No. 6 by a score of 6-2, 6-0. After the Panthers won on court three to pull MT's lead back to one point, Issa won at No. 4 in straight sets to take sole possession of sixth on the career singles wins list.

Edge wrapped up the Blue Raider victory with a three-set, come-from-behind win at No. 5. Morell won the first game of the deciding set at No. 2, and Moonen was one game away from clinching a win at No. 1 when the match was halted.

Up next for the Blue Raiders is the Conference USA Championship hosted by Rice in Houston, Texas. MT will begin the tournament on Friday as one of the top seeds. The bracket is slated to be released on Monday and will be based on the full ITA rankings.

"We've talked about some things after the win today that we could work on," Borendame said heading into the conference tournament. "We tried a new doubles pair today in Gian and Jan, and those guys looked solid. We're going to stay sharp, keep things light, and have a lot of fun."