Men's Tennis Defeats UAB, 4-2

4/14/2003 12:04:00 AM | Men's Tennis

By: MT Media Relations

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee lost the doubles point but bounced back to win four singles matches and defeat UAB, 4-2, Sunday afternoon in Birmingham, Ala., the first win for the Blue Raiders since March 20, ending a five-match losing streak.

The homestanding Blazers (9-13) won the doubles point by taking matches at Nos. 1 and 2. UAB's Kristijan Mitrovski and Patrick Suhrbier defeated Trevor Short and Michael Staniak, 8-2, at No. 1, while Andre Maier and Dino Mancarella gave UAB the point with an 8-5 victory over Daniel Klemetz and Brandon Allan. The Blue Raiders won at No. 3, with Kirk Jackson and Anant Sitaram defeating Bastian Gruendler and Sanzaruz Zaman, 8-4.

The Blue Raiders (6-15) came back to win four singles matches of the five completed, led by 20^th-ranked Klemetz defeating Gruendler, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 1. Jackson won at No. 2 over Ivan Andreev when the Blazer retired in the third set. Jackson lost the first set 6-3, but won the second at love and led 1-0 when Andreev retired.

The Blazers got a win at No. 3, with Maier defeating Sitaram, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. But Middle Tennessee came back to win at Nos. 4 and 6 and led at No. 5 when the match ended.

Staniak defeated Mitrovski, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4, while Allan won 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, to secure the win. Rishan Kuruppu led Suhrbier, 5-7, 6-2, 2-1, at No. 5.

The Blue Raiders will now prepare for the Sun Belt Championships, which start April 25 in Mobile, Ala. South Alabama will host the conference championships, which take place April 25-27 at the Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts and the Mobile Tennis Center.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE 4, UAB 2

SINGLES

1. (20) Daniel Klemetz (MT) def. Bastian Gruendler (UAB), 6-2, 6-2

2. Kirk Jackson (MT) def. Ivan Andreev (UAB), 3-6, 6-0, 1-0, retired

3. Andre Maier (UAB) def. Anant Sitaram (MT), 4-6, 6-4, 10-8

4. Michael Staniak (MT) def. Kristijan Mitrovski (UAB), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

5. Rishan Kuruppu (MT) led Patrick Suhrbier (UAB), 5-7, 6-2, 2-1, DNF

6. Brandon Allan (MT) def. Sanzaruz Zaman (UAB), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2