Blue Raiders Compete at C-USA Pod in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The winner of five-straight, Middle Tennessee's men's tennis takes a road trip to Charlotte, N.C. for the C-USA pod with host Charlotte, Old Dominion and Florida Atlantic. The Raiders have a huge weekend ahead getting a taste what the Conference USA tournament will look like on April 19-21 at Adams Tennis Complex.

The Raiders have been a powerhouse this season when it comes to taking the first point. Out of the 15 double points won this season, 11 of them ended in full match wins for the Blue Raiders. Look for this to be the key for a successful weekend.
Fans can follow the action on Twitter (@MT_MensTennis).

Match Information
Where: Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex, Charlotte, NC
When: Friday (3:00 pm), Saturday (10:00 am) and Sunday (10:00 am)
Who: Charlotte (8-11, 0-0 C-USA), ODU (9-7, 0-0 C-USA), FAU (15-8, 1-0 C-USA)
*Times to the matches could change due to impending weather coming in this weekend.*

Opponents
Charlotte 49ers
Series: Blue Raiders lead, 4-1
Last Meeting: March 17, 2018, MT won 4-0
Player to watch: No. 118 Luca Keist (15-10 overall, 9-10 at No. 1)
Scouting Report: This will be the 6th meeting between the Blue Raiders and 49ers. Charlotte comes into Fridays match with an 8-11 record this year and are 4-1 at home. They just snapped a four match losing streak with a 6-1 win over Wingate. Last season, 49ers finished 12-15 overall and lost to Southern Miss in the opening round of the C-USA Tournament, 4-2.

Old Dominion Monarchs
Series: Monarchs lead, 7-2
Last Meeting: March 16, 2018, ODU won 4-3
Player to watch: No. 99 Aziz Kijametovic (18-9 overall) won two-straight
Scouting Report: The Blue Raiders and Monarchs have their 10th meeting set on Saturday with ODU winning the last five matchups. The reigning C-USA champions finished the 2017-18 with a 19-6 record and their first C-USA title.

Florida Atlantic Owls
Series: Blue Raiders lead, 6-3
Last Meeting: April 21, 2018, FAU won 4-1
Players to watch: No. 81 Jason Legall & Ignacio Garcia (16-9 overall, 14-7 at No. 1)
Scouting Report: This will be the 10th meeting between the Blue Raiders and Owls. FAU matches up with MT on Sunday morning and has posted a 15-8 record this year with a 2-6 record on the road. They are coming off a 7-0 loss to No. 33 UCF after winning seven-straight. Last season, the Owls knocked out the Blue Raiders in the C-USA tournament.

MT players to watch
No. 67 Chris Edge/Tom Moonen – the No. 67 ranked pair is currently 18-8 on the season, including 13-6 in the No. 1 spot.
Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore/Pavel Motl – The No. 3 doubles pair has been on fire this season. Together, they are 17-4 overall and is running a six-match win streak to help earn the Blue Raiders 15 doubles points.
Pavel Motl – leads the team in singles wins with a total of 21 and is tied with the lead in double wins with 21. He has cracked the top 10 freshman win record in singles and doubles with his outstanding season so far. Not including, Motl has won five-straight matches.
Max Rauch – the fiery junior played hero in the match against ETSU as he clutched out the clinching win for the Blue Raiders. He is 19-11 in singles and has won back-to-back doubles matches.

Record Watch
Pavel Motl has 21 singles wins and 21 doubles wins this season, which enters him into the top 10 All-Freshman season singles and doubles wins in MTSU history. In singles, he is ranked No. 9 and in doubles he is tied at No. 3 with three others.
Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore has moved to No. 8 all-time in MTSU history with a combined wins in doubles (74) and singles (75) with 149. Morell has cracked the top 10 career single wins and doubles wins at No. 10. He also ranks No. 9 in Doubles Winning Percentage with an astounding 65.4% (74-39).

Social Media
Follow the Blue Raiders all season long
Twitter: @MT_MensTennis
Facebook: Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Mens Tennis
Instagram: @MT_MensTennis

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Chris Edge

Tom Moonen

Gonzalo Morell Raschiatore

Pavel Motl

Max Rauch

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics