Men’s Tennis wins twice in C-USA Pod

Friday, March 24

Norfolk, Va.

3 PM

Middle Tennessee

No. 39 Old Dominion

3/26/2017 1:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Blue Raiders win over Charlotte and Florida Atlantic

By: @MTAthletics

MT at No. 39 Old Dominion Box Score
MT vs. Charlotte Box Score
MT vs. Florida Atlantic Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – Three matches in as many days at the Conference USA Pod hosted by Old Dominion didn't faze Middle Tennessee, as the Blue Raiders won challenging matches on the final two days of competition.

On Friday, the Blue Raiders took the doubles point against No. 39 Old Dominion, but the Monarchs claimed four singles matches to take the first match of the event, 4-3.

Tom Moonen and Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore teamed up at the No. 1 doubles spot to win a tight match, 6-4, followed by Gian Issa and Miguel Negre Fernandez at the No. 2 position, who won over their opponents by a score of 6-3.

In singles against the Monarchs, Morell took his match on court two, 6-2, 7-5, followed by Max Rauch's three-set win at the bottom of the lineup, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, to give the Blue Raiders their only three points in the match. ODU's Adam Moundir entered the weekend with a national singles ranking of No. 36, and he led the charge for the Monarchs in singles action. Two Blue Raiders took their match to a third set, but the Monarchs were able to come away with the 4-3 victory.

Despite Moonen and Morell again winning at the No. 1 doubles spot on Saturday against Charlotte, the 49ers took the doubles point and took a 1-0 lead into singles play.

The Charlotte lead quickly vanished, as Middle claimed all six singles matches.

Moonen, Morell and Rauch all cruised to a straight-set win, but Negre and Issa were able to fight back from down a set to take their match at No. 3 and 4, respectively. Luis Morillo Diaz won his first set at the No. 5 spot, 6-3, but dropped the second set by a narrow margin forcing a third set. Morillo dominated the deciding set, 6-2, to give the Blue Raiders a 6-1 win over the 49ers heading into the final day of competition.

Florida Atlantic won over Charlotte and Old Dominion entering Sunday, but MT was up for the challenge, edging the Owls, 4-3.

Moonen and Morell started the match with another doubles win at the No. 1 spot, followed by Nicolas Buitrago Machado teaming up with Rauch at No. 3 doubles to clinch the first point in the match.

Florida Atlantic fought back to tie the match at three points apiece, despite Morillo and Negre winning their singles matches at No. 3 and 5, respectively. After dropping his first set, 2-6, Issa was dialed in for the final two sets, edging out Felipe Frias of FAU by a final score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

"I've never been more proud of Gian," MT head coach Jimmy Borendame said. "He is a real fighter. We never count him out, no matter the score.

"Luis played some better tennis this weekend and overcame a lot of adversity. He brings energy every day and is a very tough guy. This was a complete team win over a good and feisty FAU team," Borendame added.

MT returns to Murfreesboro and the Adams Tennis Complex next weekend for the MT Shootout against South Alabama, Valpo and UAB, starting March 31. The Blue Raiders' opponents from this weekend, along with the rest of C-USA will be in Murfreesboro April 21-23 for the C-USA Men's Tennis Championship.