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Morillo Reaches Round of 16 at Regional
10/23/2016 2:57:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Blue Raiders wrap up weekend in Knoxville
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee's Luis Morillo Diaz represented the Blue Raiders in the Round of 16 in Main Draw Singles at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional presented by Oracle, hosted by Tennessee.
Morillo's trip through the tournament began with a first round triumph over Eastern Kentucky's Diego Asis. After winning a tight first set, Morillo dominated the first set tiebreak, and that momentum carried over into the second set, as he earned the victory, 7-6 (7-0), 6-0. Morillo followed in the second round with a three-set victory over Lipscomb's Rob Mitchell.
After earning another three set victory in the third round over ETSU's Miguel Este, the MT sophomore's tournament came to an end in the Round of 16 against Timo Stodder of Tennessee, the ninth ranked player in the Ohio Valley Region.
"Luis has definitely solidified himself as a tough player, and he continues to build confidence," MT head coach Jimmy Borendame said. "It's been great to see him put in the work and get the results he's getting. With a 9-1 record so far this fall, he's got a chance of being nationally ranked when the season starts."
Another bright spot of the weekend for the Blue Raiders was Tom Moonen, who cruised through the first round and earned a win over Indiana's Antonio Cembellin, ranked No. 14 in the region.
"Tom really stepped up for us this weekend by getting his first nationally ranked singles win for the team," Borendame added. "After three tournaments, he's figured out what style he needs to play. He's a real impact player for us."
Sophomore Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore began the tournament ranked No. 18 in the region. He lost only three games in the first two rounds of the tournament combined, but ran into Kentucky's Nils Ellefsen in the Round of 32. Ellefsen, ranked No. 15 in the region, took the win by a slim margin, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4).
Max Rauch enjoyed a singles record of 3-2 at the Ohio Valley Regional, including wins over opponents from Eastern Kentucky, Louisville and Dayton. Rauch took on Memphis's Kai Lemke in the second round of the event, falling in three sets to the No. 8 ranked player in the region.
Also winning in their first round matchups were Gian Issa and Nicolas Buitrago Machado. Issa was dominant against IUPUI's Steven Christie in the opening round, taking the win by a score of 6-2, 6-2, before dropping his match to Raheel Manji in the next round.
Carlos Tajes of Tennessee Tech fell to Buitrago, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round of the event, but ETSU's Robert Herrera got the upper hand in the second round over Buitrago, 6-0, 6-2.
In doubles action, Morillo and Issa opened the tournament with a win over a duo from Austin Peay, but Northern Kentucky won over the No. 14 ranked pair in the second round by a score of 8-2. Ayed Zatar Cordero paired with Morell to earn a first round victory against IUPUI, 8-2, but the Blue Raiders fell in the second round to Indiana.
"We identified some minor adjustments we need to make after watching our doubles this weekend. We need to work on coming out with more intensity and know what patterns to look for when we're serving," Borendame said.
Next on the schedule for MT is the Commodore Scramble in Nashville Oct. 28-30. The Blue Raiders will wrap up their fall schedule with the CCB Collegiate Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama, Nov. 4-6.
Round of 128
[18] Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore def. Thais Minet (Lipscomb) 6-1, 6-0
Max Rauch def. Colin Hart (EKU) 6-2, 6-2
Luis Morillo Diaz def. Diego Asis (EKU) 7-6 (7-0), 6-0
Christopher Kougoucheff (Louisville) def. [29] Ayed Zatar Cordero 7-6 (11-9), 6-2
Gian Issa def. Steven Christie (IUPUI) 6-2, 6-2
Nicolas Buitrago Machado def. Carlos Tajes (Tennessee Tech) 6-2, 6-3
Tom Moonen def. Gabe Arajua (Xavier) 6-4, 6-2
Round of 64
[18] Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore def. Mate Virag (Northern Kentucky) 6-2, 6-0
[8] Kai Lemke (Memphis) def. Max Rauch 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Luis Morillo Diaz def. Rob Mitchell (Lipscomb) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
[20] Raheel Manji (Indiana) def. Gian Issa 6-2, 6-3
[11] Robert Herrera (ETSU) def. Nicolas Buitrago Machado 6-0, 6-2
Tom Moonen def. [14] Antonio Cembellin (Indiana) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Round of 32
[15] Nils Ellefsen (Kentucky) def. [18] Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4)
Luis Morillo Diaz def. [26] Miguel Este (ETSU) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2)
[28] Beck Pennington (Kentucky) def. Tom Moonen 6-3, 6-4
Round of 16
[9] Timo Stodder (Tennessee) def. Luis Morillo Diaz 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
Consolation Singles
Michael Birnbaum (Chattanooga) def. [29] Ayed Zatar Cordero 7-5, 6-2
Max Rauch def. Santiago Salazar (Louisville) 7-5, 7-5
Max Rauch def. Zach Berry (Dayton) 6-4, 6-2
Gabe Arajua (Xavier) def. Max Rauch 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 1-0 (10-7)
Doubles
Herrera/Nunez (ETSU) def. [13] Moonen/Rauch 8-7
[14] Morillo/Issa def. Ozelis/Drobysh (Austin Peay) 8-5
[9] Zatar/Morell def. Christie/Moe (IUPUI) 8-2
Virag/Clemens (Northern Kentucky) def. [14] Morillo/Issa 8-2
Crane/Tabrizi (Indiana) def. [9] Zatar/Morell 8-5
Morillo's trip through the tournament began with a first round triumph over Eastern Kentucky's Diego Asis. After winning a tight first set, Morillo dominated the first set tiebreak, and that momentum carried over into the second set, as he earned the victory, 7-6 (7-0), 6-0. Morillo followed in the second round with a three-set victory over Lipscomb's Rob Mitchell.
After earning another three set victory in the third round over ETSU's Miguel Este, the MT sophomore's tournament came to an end in the Round of 16 against Timo Stodder of Tennessee, the ninth ranked player in the Ohio Valley Region.
"Luis has definitely solidified himself as a tough player, and he continues to build confidence," MT head coach Jimmy Borendame said. "It's been great to see him put in the work and get the results he's getting. With a 9-1 record so far this fall, he's got a chance of being nationally ranked when the season starts."
Another bright spot of the weekend for the Blue Raiders was Tom Moonen, who cruised through the first round and earned a win over Indiana's Antonio Cembellin, ranked No. 14 in the region.
"Tom really stepped up for us this weekend by getting his first nationally ranked singles win for the team," Borendame added. "After three tournaments, he's figured out what style he needs to play. He's a real impact player for us."
Sophomore Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore began the tournament ranked No. 18 in the region. He lost only three games in the first two rounds of the tournament combined, but ran into Kentucky's Nils Ellefsen in the Round of 32. Ellefsen, ranked No. 15 in the region, took the win by a slim margin, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4).
Max Rauch enjoyed a singles record of 3-2 at the Ohio Valley Regional, including wins over opponents from Eastern Kentucky, Louisville and Dayton. Rauch took on Memphis's Kai Lemke in the second round of the event, falling in three sets to the No. 8 ranked player in the region.
Also winning in their first round matchups were Gian Issa and Nicolas Buitrago Machado. Issa was dominant against IUPUI's Steven Christie in the opening round, taking the win by a score of 6-2, 6-2, before dropping his match to Raheel Manji in the next round.
Carlos Tajes of Tennessee Tech fell to Buitrago, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round of the event, but ETSU's Robert Herrera got the upper hand in the second round over Buitrago, 6-0, 6-2.
In doubles action, Morillo and Issa opened the tournament with a win over a duo from Austin Peay, but Northern Kentucky won over the No. 14 ranked pair in the second round by a score of 8-2. Ayed Zatar Cordero paired with Morell to earn a first round victory against IUPUI, 8-2, but the Blue Raiders fell in the second round to Indiana.
"We identified some minor adjustments we need to make after watching our doubles this weekend. We need to work on coming out with more intensity and know what patterns to look for when we're serving," Borendame said.
Next on the schedule for MT is the Commodore Scramble in Nashville Oct. 28-30. The Blue Raiders will wrap up their fall schedule with the CCB Collegiate Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama, Nov. 4-6.
Round of 128
[18] Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore def. Thais Minet (Lipscomb) 6-1, 6-0
Max Rauch def. Colin Hart (EKU) 6-2, 6-2
Luis Morillo Diaz def. Diego Asis (EKU) 7-6 (7-0), 6-0
Christopher Kougoucheff (Louisville) def. [29] Ayed Zatar Cordero 7-6 (11-9), 6-2
Gian Issa def. Steven Christie (IUPUI) 6-2, 6-2
Nicolas Buitrago Machado def. Carlos Tajes (Tennessee Tech) 6-2, 6-3
Tom Moonen def. Gabe Arajua (Xavier) 6-4, 6-2
Round of 64
[18] Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore def. Mate Virag (Northern Kentucky) 6-2, 6-0
[8] Kai Lemke (Memphis) def. Max Rauch 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Luis Morillo Diaz def. Rob Mitchell (Lipscomb) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
[20] Raheel Manji (Indiana) def. Gian Issa 6-2, 6-3
[11] Robert Herrera (ETSU) def. Nicolas Buitrago Machado 6-0, 6-2
Tom Moonen def. [14] Antonio Cembellin (Indiana) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Round of 32
[15] Nils Ellefsen (Kentucky) def. [18] Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4)
Luis Morillo Diaz def. [26] Miguel Este (ETSU) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2)
[28] Beck Pennington (Kentucky) def. Tom Moonen 6-3, 6-4
Round of 16
[9] Timo Stodder (Tennessee) def. Luis Morillo Diaz 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
Consolation Singles
Michael Birnbaum (Chattanooga) def. [29] Ayed Zatar Cordero 7-5, 6-2
Max Rauch def. Santiago Salazar (Louisville) 7-5, 7-5
Max Rauch def. Zach Berry (Dayton) 6-4, 6-2
Gabe Arajua (Xavier) def. Max Rauch 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 1-0 (10-7)
Doubles
Herrera/Nunez (ETSU) def. [13] Moonen/Rauch 8-7
[14] Morillo/Issa def. Ozelis/Drobysh (Austin Peay) 8-5
[9] Zatar/Morell def. Christie/Moe (IUPUI) 8-2
Virag/Clemens (Northern Kentucky) def. [14] Morillo/Issa 8-2
Crane/Tabrizi (Indiana) def. [9] Zatar/Morell 8-5
Players Mentioned
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