Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Strong start continuing hot streak for Raider tennis
1/30/2020 10:35:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It's been quite a year for Middle Tennessee's men's tennis team.
After getting off to a bit of a slow start during the spring of 2019 due to a few injuries and some sickness that ran through the team, the Blue Raiders flipped their 8-9 record with wins in seven of their last nine matches to end the regular season 15-11. Then, on their homecourt, they captured the first Conference USA title in program history by beating FAU, 4-3, on April 21 at the Adams Tennis Complex.
They would go on to lose to No. 20 North Carolina State in the NCAA Regionals at Tennessee on May 3, but racked up numerous awards in the process, including Stijn Slump as C-USA Freshman of the Year. Senior Gonzalo Morell and Slump were named to the all-conference first team singles list, freshman Pavel Motl was second team singles and the doubles teams of Chris Edge and Tom Moonen and Motl and Morell were placed on the second team.
Not to be left out, head coach Jimmy Borendame was named Coach of the Year by the conference and Ohio Valley Region, and assistant coach Sebastian Rey earned Ohio Valley Assistant Coach of the Year honors. The players also took home MT's Director's Cup and Best Team GPA awards (cumulative 3.73) at the Raiders' Choice Awards, and they earned the Ohio Valley Community Service Award for the third year in a row.
Needless to say, the awards were aplenty for the high-riding netters.
The whirlwind of a couple of months brought attention to the program like Borendame had never experienced since taking over in 2010. Getting his team to focus as they went into the summer and then fall season proved to be easy, though, thanks to his experienced leaders.
As seniors, Moonen, Max Rauch and Daniel Stormon have stepped into the team's leadership roles, as well as Edge, a junior.
"I can't say enough about our older guys," Borendame said. "We really didn't do anything differently this offseason, other than some things conditioning-wise. We actually were swimming two times per week.
"We did spend a lot more time one-on-one with the guys. That's something we've always done, but we made it even more of an emphasis. I hope that's helped us."
Borendame's methods seemed to have worked. After a strong fall season, the Blue Raiders have gotten off to a hot start in the spring. They've won every dual match so far, starting the regular season 6-0 for the first time since 2002 and only the third time in the last 45 years.
Since the 8-9 record MT had on March 7, 2019, it's rattled off 16 wins in 19 matches, and the success has come from all across the lineup. Edge (6-0), Moonen (4-0 at No. 1), Motl (4-0) and sophomore Francisco Rocha (3-0) are each undefeated so far this season in singles, and Rauch is 3-1. In doubles, the team of Motl and Slump is 3-1 in the No. 1 spot, while Edge and Moonen are 3-1 at No. 2 and Stormon and Rauch are 2-0 at No. 3.
"I don't think anything's changed, really," Moonen said. "We're trying to play our game … and trying to improve wherever we can. I think that's been a big part of our mentality, trusting each other and knowing we're playing well, but we can get better.
"A lot of guys had really good falls, and a lot of guys were practicing really well … but we also knew we were playing some good teams early. I don't know if we expected this good of a start, but we were ready for it."
On paper, an outsider could think Middle Tennessee's roster is a little inexperienced with only two seniors, a junior and a handful of sophomores playing the majority of the matches so far.
That would be a false accusation though — even the younger Blue Raiders have experience in pressure-packed moments.
Last spring, it was Motl and Slump who stepped up as freshmen in the quarterfinals and finals of the C-USA Championships to deliver two of the most important wins of the weekend.
"That was such an enormous confidence boost," Moonen said. "It was such a big high for us, and you can still tell everyone is super excited about it. The community was so involved … and you can tell that's still fresh in everyone's mind. The crowds at our home matches have been amazing, and everyone is having so much fun with it."
Middle Tennessee finished the regular season on a tear last spring after getting off to a slow start. Now with a 6-0 record under its belt, there's no telling what could come of the rest of this season.
Borendame is trying not to focus too far down the road, though. The conference tournament doesn't start until April 17 — there's still plenty of time to get better between now and then.
"We're approaching it one match at a time and focusing on that match and competing as hard as we can," he said. "Our focus is to just get better.
"I think the big thing is, we're walking around with some confidence, and it's good confidence. They believe they can beat anybody, and that's what you want out of all of your players."
After getting off to a bit of a slow start during the spring of 2019 due to a few injuries and some sickness that ran through the team, the Blue Raiders flipped their 8-9 record with wins in seven of their last nine matches to end the regular season 15-11. Then, on their homecourt, they captured the first Conference USA title in program history by beating FAU, 4-3, on April 21 at the Adams Tennis Complex.
They would go on to lose to No. 20 North Carolina State in the NCAA Regionals at Tennessee on May 3, but racked up numerous awards in the process, including Stijn Slump as C-USA Freshman of the Year. Senior Gonzalo Morell and Slump were named to the all-conference first team singles list, freshman Pavel Motl was second team singles and the doubles teams of Chris Edge and Tom Moonen and Motl and Morell were placed on the second team.
Not to be left out, head coach Jimmy Borendame was named Coach of the Year by the conference and Ohio Valley Region, and assistant coach Sebastian Rey earned Ohio Valley Assistant Coach of the Year honors. The players also took home MT's Director's Cup and Best Team GPA awards (cumulative 3.73) at the Raiders' Choice Awards, and they earned the Ohio Valley Community Service Award for the third year in a row.
Needless to say, the awards were aplenty for the high-riding netters.
The whirlwind of a couple of months brought attention to the program like Borendame had never experienced since taking over in 2010. Getting his team to focus as they went into the summer and then fall season proved to be easy, though, thanks to his experienced leaders.
As seniors, Moonen, Max Rauch and Daniel Stormon have stepped into the team's leadership roles, as well as Edge, a junior.
"I can't say enough about our older guys," Borendame said. "We really didn't do anything differently this offseason, other than some things conditioning-wise. We actually were swimming two times per week.
"We did spend a lot more time one-on-one with the guys. That's something we've always done, but we made it even more of an emphasis. I hope that's helped us."
Borendame's methods seemed to have worked. After a strong fall season, the Blue Raiders have gotten off to a hot start in the spring. They've won every dual match so far, starting the regular season 6-0 for the first time since 2002 and only the third time in the last 45 years.
Since the 8-9 record MT had on March 7, 2019, it's rattled off 16 wins in 19 matches, and the success has come from all across the lineup. Edge (6-0), Moonen (4-0 at No. 1), Motl (4-0) and sophomore Francisco Rocha (3-0) are each undefeated so far this season in singles, and Rauch is 3-1. In doubles, the team of Motl and Slump is 3-1 in the No. 1 spot, while Edge and Moonen are 3-1 at No. 2 and Stormon and Rauch are 2-0 at No. 3.
"I don't think anything's changed, really," Moonen said. "We're trying to play our game … and trying to improve wherever we can. I think that's been a big part of our mentality, trusting each other and knowing we're playing well, but we can get better.
"A lot of guys had really good falls, and a lot of guys were practicing really well … but we also knew we were playing some good teams early. I don't know if we expected this good of a start, but we were ready for it."
On paper, an outsider could think Middle Tennessee's roster is a little inexperienced with only two seniors, a junior and a handful of sophomores playing the majority of the matches so far.
That would be a false accusation though — even the younger Blue Raiders have experience in pressure-packed moments.
Last spring, it was Motl and Slump who stepped up as freshmen in the quarterfinals and finals of the C-USA Championships to deliver two of the most important wins of the weekend.
"That was such an enormous confidence boost," Moonen said. "It was such a big high for us, and you can still tell everyone is super excited about it. The community was so involved … and you can tell that's still fresh in everyone's mind. The crowds at our home matches have been amazing, and everyone is having so much fun with it."
Middle Tennessee finished the regular season on a tear last spring after getting off to a slow start. Now with a 6-0 record under its belt, there's no telling what could come of the rest of this season.
Borendame is trying not to focus too far down the road, though. The conference tournament doesn't start until April 17 — there's still plenty of time to get better between now and then.
"We're approaching it one match at a time and focusing on that match and competing as hard as we can," he said. "Our focus is to just get better.
"I think the big thing is, we're walking around with some confidence, and it's good confidence. They believe they can beat anybody, and that's what you want out of all of your players."
Players Mentioned
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