Raiders Fall in NCAA Regionals to #19 NC State

Friday, May 3

Knoxville, Tenn. / Barksdale Stadium

10:30 AM

Middle Tennessee

NC State

5/3/2019 2:31:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

MT is defeated by #19 NC State in the first round of the NCAA regionals

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, the Middle Tennessee men's tennis team (18-12) fell to No. 19 nationally ranked NC State (19-10) by a 4-0 score on Friday morning at the Goodfriend Tennis Complex.

In the doubles point, the top Blue Raider pair of Tom Moonen and Chris Edge came out on fire defeating the No. 44-ranked Wolfpack duo, 6-3 to tie the doubles match up, sending it to the No. 3 court. The Raider pair broke to take a 6-5 lead, but NC State would tie it up 6-6 and clinch it in tiebreaker.

NC State came out of the break with a quick win on court one, giving them a 2-0 lead. Afterwards, the Blue Raiders picked up their energy as Stijn Slump (6-4), Max Rauch (7-6 (7-3)) and Tom Moonen (7-6 (7-5)) battled to first set wins. Chris Edge was sitting on the verge of claiming a first set win on court five, but Yannai Barkai clinched it on tiebreaker (7-5).

The Wolfpack stopped any attempt of a comeback by earning wins on court six and five to advance onto the second round of the regionals.

Singles competition
1. #21 Alexis Galarneau (ST) def. Gonzalo Morell (MT) 6-1, 6-1
2. Igor Saveljic (ST) vs. Stijn Slump (MT) 4-6, 6-1, 3-0, unfinished
3. Tadas Babelis (ST) vs. Tom Moonen (MT) 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 1-0, unfinished
4. Robert Turzak (ST) vs. Max Rauch (MT) 6-7 (3-7), 3-4, unfinished
5. Yannai Barkai (ST) def. Chris Edge (MT) 7-5, 6-4
6. Georgiy Malyshev (ST) def. Pavel Motl (MT) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Tom Moonen/Chris Edge (MT) def. #44 Alexis Galarneau/Michael Ogden (ST) 6-3
2. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (ST) def. Max Rauch/Francisco Rocha (MT) 6-1
3. Tadas Babelis/Yannai Barkai (ST) def. Pavel Motl/Gonzalo Morell (MT) 7-6 (7-4)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,6,5)

With three juniors, one sophomore and four freshmen, MT will look to be in good shape to defend their title next year in 2020.

The Blue Raiders wrapped up the historic 2019 campaign with a 18-12 mark, 11-3 at home and 4-1 in C-USA action, including the first C-USA title in program history. Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter, @MT_MensTennis, and Instagram like them on Facebook, MTSU Men's Tennis, and for updates and information on the team throughout the offseason.