Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Edge named Co-Player of the Year; Borendame tabbed Coach of the Year
6/16/2020 12:04:00 PM | Men's Tennis, BRAA
Raiders earn five C-USA honors following shortened season.
DALLAS, TX. – Middle Tennessee men's tennis picked up numerous postseason conference accolades in a shortened season due to COVID-19 as junior Chris Edge was named Conference USA Co-Player of the Year and Jimmy Borendame was named Conference USA Coach of the Year, the league announced Tuesday.
Additionally, senior Tom Moonen and junior Chris Edge made All-Conference USA First-Team, while sophomore Pavel Motl is listed on the All-Conference USA Second-Team. Chris Edge/Tom Moonen and Pavel Motl/Stijn Slump were also named to the All-Conference USA Doubles Second Team.
Middle Tennessee's five C-USA honors is tied for the most in conference with Old Dominion.
Borendame is the 6th coach to nab the postseason award for Middle Tennessee and this marks the fourth of his tenure with the Blue Raiders. Borendame was named Coach of the Year in 2019 following the Raiders' first C-USA Tournament Championship.
This season marks Borendame's 10th as head coach at Middle Tennessee. He led the Raiders to a 53-22 record the past three seasons and the program's first Conference USA Championship. The team has also ranked as high as No. 27 in the nation, that is the highest ranking since 1997 where the team was ranked at No. 17.
"This award is owed to the great people that I get to work with each day and I share it with each of them," said head coach Jimmy Borendame. "Special thanks go to Coach John Kreis, Coach Ricky Hernandez-Tong, Tyrell Brown, Madison Lowrance, Drew Shea, Morgan Harris, Shelby Salkar, team managers, Dr. McPhee, Chris Massaro and our entire athletic administration. More importantly I thank the amazing student-athletes, fans, alumni and supporters. I love working with each person and I appreciate them for working so hard side by side with me for our great program. I cannot wait to build on 2020 and get better everyday."
For the first time since 1998, a Middle Tennessee player earned the Player of the Year honor. Chris Edge, who picked up three conference accolades and posted the most wins on the team in dual match singles with an 11-4 record. The Great Britain native became the first Middle Tennessee athlete since David McNamara in 1998 to earn PoTY honors.
He led the team in wins at No. 2 (5-3) and No. 3 (5-1) spots. He ranked as high as No. 76 in the ITA rankings from Nov. 13 - Jan. 20 and was named the Conference USA player of the week after a perfect weekend at the Arkansas Invitational. Even with the season cut short, Edge earned his third-straight year with at least 20 dual singles wins.
"Chris earning all of these awards is due to his hard work," said Borendame. "He made some changes in his game, did extra work outside of regular practice hours and was rewarded with Co-Player of the Year. I am especially proud of Chris due to his development and hard work. Even more impressive is that Chris can continue to improve."
Moonen earned his first-career first-team All-Conference USA selection after holding the No. 1 singles position all season for the Raiders. Tom Moonen had a 7-5 record in the spring season all at the top spot in the MT lineup. He won a three-set match over an Arkansas player clinching the Razorback Invitational and helped clinch a perfect start on the season. Moonen also was named the ITA Ohio Valley Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship and the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship awards.
"Tom Moonen has been the ultimate team leader on and off the court," said Boredname. "This year he had a game plan from the first day on campus. Tom's singles and doubles play has been impressive and I cannot wait to have him back next year."
Pavel Motl nabbed his second second-team All-Conference USA honors as he opened his second year at MT by having the best winning percentage on the team and had second-highest wins with a 9-2 record. He started the season with a perfect 7-0 record helping catapult one of the best starts in program history. Most of his wins came at the No. 6 spot (7-2) and had a perfect record at No. 5 (2-0).
"Pavel Motl is one of the most versatile and dynamic players I have come across," said coach Borendame. "He just puts his head down and goes to work. He can play any game style we ask him to and he simply just wins. I am excited to see him step up even more this coming year."
At the top of the doubles lineup, Pavel Motl and Stijn Slump were named to the All-Conference USA Second-Team Doubles. The duo took down multiple nationally ranked doubles on their way to securing the title at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional and qualified for the Oracle ITA Fall National Championships. They ranked as high as No. 20 in the spring with a 5-4 record at No. 1. That is the highest ranking Blue Raider history since 2007 National Champions Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom at No. 1.
"Stijn and Pavel have been our surprise new doubles team," said Borendame. "They play slightly untraditional but are very effective. I love their fire and energy. Their confidence just continues to improve and I can't wait to see them continue to jell."
For the second-consecutive season, Tom Moonen and Chris Edge have been named to the All-Conference USA Second-Team Doubles. Edge and Moonen were first on the team in dual match doubles wins with 8-4 record in the spring, mostly at the No. 2 spot. They clinched three doubles points throughout the shortened season.
"Edge and Moonen have now been a tandem for three years," said Borendame. "They compliment each other very well and are an explosive team. They have been a rock in our doubles lineup."
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