Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Men’s Tennis Reaches 10 Wins on Season
2/27/2016 8:11:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Blue Raiders win one, lose one in doubleheader
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee split a doubleheader at Adams Tennis Complex on Saturday with No. 23 Columbia and Tennessee State to close out the indoor portion of the season.
The Blue Raiders were ranked No. 50 coming into play, their highest ranking this season. The Lions of Columbia were the highest ranked opponent MT has faced so far in 2016.
Two of the three doubles teams from Columbia were ranked nationally by the ITA entering play. The Lions were able to strike first and get the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. The No. 10 nationally ranked doubles team from Columbia took the match 6-2 to open up play. A tight match on court three ended with the Lions going on a run to end the match, winning 6-4.
Miguel Negre Fernandez and Gian Issa teamed up at No. 2 to tie the No. 33 nationally ranked doubles team by a score of 5-5.
"I like the fact we were able to hang with them in doubles," head coach Jimmy Borendame said. "That was really encouraging. That's an area of our game that we could always work on though."
There was only one match that was decided by a wide margin against Columbia. Shawn Hadavi of the Lions entered play ranked No. 54 nationally in singles play. He lived up to the hype to take a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 1.
Several Blue Raiders led in their first sets, but were unable to come away with the victory. That was the case on court five, as Columbia took the match at No. 5 by a score of 6-2, 6-2. The Lions clinched the match with a close 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2.
Ayed Zatar Cordero was able to take his match at No. 3 to a second set tiebreak, but was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, dropping the match 6-4, 7-6 (8-6). Issa had momentum going into his second set tiebreak, but Columbia took the match at No. 6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
The lone Blue Raider victory was in a third set match-tiebreak at No. 4. Negre delivered the win by a score of 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6).
"Miguel is a really tough guy and his game has exploded recently," Borendame added. "The guys really believed we could win today, Columbia just played better."
The MT win streak came to a close with the Lions beating the Blue Raiders, 6-1.
In the second match of the day, the Blue Raiders were able to bounce back with a 7-0 shutout win over TSU.
MT took the early advantage by winning the doubles point with victories at No. 1 and 3 doubles. Dima Zyhmantovich and Luis Morillo Diaz teamed up to take the 6-2 win at No. 3, followed by a 6-3 win on court one by Gonalo Morell Raschiatore and Zatar.
Issa and Negre once again were unable to finish their match, but were up 5-4.
In singles play, the bottom of the lineup was dominant, with Michael Apple taking a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6. Robin Riethmueller cruised through his match at No. 5, winning 6-0, 6-1.
Morillo took the win at No. 4 by a score of 6-2, 6-1 to clinch the match for the Blue Raiders. Issa followed with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on court 3.
Zatar blanked his opponent in the first set and managed to close out his second set to get the win, 6-0, 6-4 at No. 2. Zyhmantovich closed out the shutout with a win at No. 1, 6-3, 6-2.
MT will get a little bit of a break before going on the road to face Miami (FL) on March 8 and FAU on March 11 to open up outdoor play.
"We're going to go to work outdoors starting tomorrow," Borendame said. "Miami (FL) and FAU are two teams that play outdoors all the time, so we've got to be prepared."
Columbia vs Middle Tennessee
2/27/2016 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
#23 Columbia 6, #50 Middle Tennessee 1
Singles competition
1. #54 Hadavi, Shawn (16COLMEN) def. Dima Zyhmantovich (MT) 6-1, 6-0
2. Pham, Victor (16COLMEN) def. Gonzalo Morell (MT) 6-4, 6-4
3. Vermeer, Mike (16COLMEN) def. Ayed Zatar Cordero (MT) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
4. Miguel Negre (MT) def. Pham, Richard (16COLMEN) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6)
5. Rolski, Michal (16COLMEN) def. Luis Morillo Diaz (MT) 6-2, 6-2
6. Wang, Timothy (16COLMEN) def. Gian Issa (MT) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles competition
1. #10 Hadavi, Shawn/Pham, Richard (16COLMEN) def. Ayed Zatar Cordero/Gonzalo Morell (MT) 6-2
2. Miguel Negre/Gian Issa (MT) vs. #33 Vermeer, Mike/Rolski, Michal (16COLMEN) 5-5, unfinished
3. Grant, Christopher/Alda, Miguel (16COLMEN) def. Luis Morillo Diaz/Dima Zyhmantovich (MT) 6-4
Match Notes:
Columbia 7-3; National ranking #23
Middle Tennessee 9-3; National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,5,2,3,6,4)
Official: Ted Mason T-2:20 A-286
Tennessee State vs Middle Tennessee
2/27/2016 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
#50 Middle Tennessee 7, Tennessee State 0
Singles competition
1. Dima Zyhmantovich (MT) def. BERNAL, Daniel (TSUM) 6-3, 6-2
2. Ayed Zatar Cordero (MT) def. NAUTIYAL, Shashank (TSUM) 6-0, 6-4
3. Gian Issa (MT) def. RODRIGUEZ, Jorge (TSUM) 6-2, 6-3
4. Luis Morillo Diaz (MT) def. BURTON, Kyle (TSUM) 6-2, 6-1
5. Robin Riethmueller (MT) def. MADDOX, Grant (TSUM) 6-0, 6-1
6. Michael Apple (MT) def. DANIEL, Amir (TSUM) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Gonzalo Morell/Ayed Zatar Cordero (MT) def. DANIEL, Amir/BERNAL, Daniel (TSUM) 6-3
2. Gian Issa/Miguel Negre (MT) vs. BURTON, Kyle/MADDOX, Grant (TSUM) 5-4, unfinished
3. Dima Zyhmantovich/Luis Morillo Diaz (MT) def. NAUTIYAL, Shashank/RODRIGUEZ, Jorge (TSUM) 6-2
Match Notes:
Tennessee State 2-4
Middle Tennessee 10-3; National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,5,4,3,2,1)
Official: Ted Mason T-2:05 A-57
The Blue Raiders were ranked No. 50 coming into play, their highest ranking this season. The Lions of Columbia were the highest ranked opponent MT has faced so far in 2016.
Two of the three doubles teams from Columbia were ranked nationally by the ITA entering play. The Lions were able to strike first and get the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. The No. 10 nationally ranked doubles team from Columbia took the match 6-2 to open up play. A tight match on court three ended with the Lions going on a run to end the match, winning 6-4.
Miguel Negre Fernandez and Gian Issa teamed up at No. 2 to tie the No. 33 nationally ranked doubles team by a score of 5-5.
"I like the fact we were able to hang with them in doubles," head coach Jimmy Borendame said. "That was really encouraging. That's an area of our game that we could always work on though."
There was only one match that was decided by a wide margin against Columbia. Shawn Hadavi of the Lions entered play ranked No. 54 nationally in singles play. He lived up to the hype to take a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 1.
Several Blue Raiders led in their first sets, but were unable to come away with the victory. That was the case on court five, as Columbia took the match at No. 5 by a score of 6-2, 6-2. The Lions clinched the match with a close 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2.
Ayed Zatar Cordero was able to take his match at No. 3 to a second set tiebreak, but was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, dropping the match 6-4, 7-6 (8-6). Issa had momentum going into his second set tiebreak, but Columbia took the match at No. 6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
The lone Blue Raider victory was in a third set match-tiebreak at No. 4. Negre delivered the win by a score of 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6).
"Miguel is a really tough guy and his game has exploded recently," Borendame added. "The guys really believed we could win today, Columbia just played better."
The MT win streak came to a close with the Lions beating the Blue Raiders, 6-1.
In the second match of the day, the Blue Raiders were able to bounce back with a 7-0 shutout win over TSU.
MT took the early advantage by winning the doubles point with victories at No. 1 and 3 doubles. Dima Zyhmantovich and Luis Morillo Diaz teamed up to take the 6-2 win at No. 3, followed by a 6-3 win on court one by Gonalo Morell Raschiatore and Zatar.
Issa and Negre once again were unable to finish their match, but were up 5-4.
In singles play, the bottom of the lineup was dominant, with Michael Apple taking a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6. Robin Riethmueller cruised through his match at No. 5, winning 6-0, 6-1.
Morillo took the win at No. 4 by a score of 6-2, 6-1 to clinch the match for the Blue Raiders. Issa followed with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on court 3.
Zatar blanked his opponent in the first set and managed to close out his second set to get the win, 6-0, 6-4 at No. 2. Zyhmantovich closed out the shutout with a win at No. 1, 6-3, 6-2.
MT will get a little bit of a break before going on the road to face Miami (FL) on March 8 and FAU on March 11 to open up outdoor play.
"We're going to go to work outdoors starting tomorrow," Borendame said. "Miami (FL) and FAU are two teams that play outdoors all the time, so we've got to be prepared."
Columbia vs Middle Tennessee
2/27/2016 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
#23 Columbia 6, #50 Middle Tennessee 1
Singles competition
1. #54 Hadavi, Shawn (16COLMEN) def. Dima Zyhmantovich (MT) 6-1, 6-0
2. Pham, Victor (16COLMEN) def. Gonzalo Morell (MT) 6-4, 6-4
3. Vermeer, Mike (16COLMEN) def. Ayed Zatar Cordero (MT) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
4. Miguel Negre (MT) def. Pham, Richard (16COLMEN) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6)
5. Rolski, Michal (16COLMEN) def. Luis Morillo Diaz (MT) 6-2, 6-2
6. Wang, Timothy (16COLMEN) def. Gian Issa (MT) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles competition
1. #10 Hadavi, Shawn/Pham, Richard (16COLMEN) def. Ayed Zatar Cordero/Gonzalo Morell (MT) 6-2
2. Miguel Negre/Gian Issa (MT) vs. #33 Vermeer, Mike/Rolski, Michal (16COLMEN) 5-5, unfinished
3. Grant, Christopher/Alda, Miguel (16COLMEN) def. Luis Morillo Diaz/Dima Zyhmantovich (MT) 6-4
Match Notes:
Columbia 7-3; National ranking #23
Middle Tennessee 9-3; National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,5,2,3,6,4)
Official: Ted Mason T-2:20 A-286
Tennessee State vs Middle Tennessee
2/27/2016 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
#50 Middle Tennessee 7, Tennessee State 0
Singles competition
1. Dima Zyhmantovich (MT) def. BERNAL, Daniel (TSUM) 6-3, 6-2
2. Ayed Zatar Cordero (MT) def. NAUTIYAL, Shashank (TSUM) 6-0, 6-4
3. Gian Issa (MT) def. RODRIGUEZ, Jorge (TSUM) 6-2, 6-3
4. Luis Morillo Diaz (MT) def. BURTON, Kyle (TSUM) 6-2, 6-1
5. Robin Riethmueller (MT) def. MADDOX, Grant (TSUM) 6-0, 6-1
6. Michael Apple (MT) def. DANIEL, Amir (TSUM) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Gonzalo Morell/Ayed Zatar Cordero (MT) def. DANIEL, Amir/BERNAL, Daniel (TSUM) 6-3
2. Gian Issa/Miguel Negre (MT) vs. BURTON, Kyle/MADDOX, Grant (TSUM) 5-4, unfinished
3. Dima Zyhmantovich/Luis Morillo Diaz (MT) def. NAUTIYAL, Shashank/RODRIGUEZ, Jorge (TSUM) 6-2
Match Notes:
Tennessee State 2-4
Middle Tennessee 10-3; National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,5,4,3,2,1)
Official: Ted Mason T-2:05 A-57
Players Mentioned
MTSU Tennis Pro-Am 9/6/25
Tuesday, September 09
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
Men's Tennis NCAA Selection Show Watch Party on 04/28/25
Tuesday, April 29
MTSU Men's Tennis CUSA Championship vs Liberty Recap on 04/20/25
Wednesday, April 23