Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Alabama
Raiders Travel to Alabama for Top-50 Matchup
3/18/2021 10:20:00 AM | Men's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The #35 Middle Tennessee men's tennis is back in action for a Friday afternoon showdown at #31 Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide.The match will take place at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium with first serve set to take place at 4 p.m.
Match 16: Middle Tennessee (11-4, 1-0 C-USA) at Alabama (10-7, 2-5 SEC)
» Friday, March 19, 2021 – 4 p.m. CST
» University of Alabama Tennis Stadium – Tuscaloosa, Ala..
About the Blue Raiders
» Middle Tennessee has 26 straight wins at home, dating back to 2019, after defeating Louisville, 4-0, last Friday.
» With the win on Sunday at Vanderbilt, MTSU defeated the Commodores for the second time in nine days after not doing so since 2006.
» The Blue Raiders have earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors three times this season, with Francisco Rocha winning twice and Pavel Motl adding one of his own
» Oskar Michalek is ranked No. 102 in the ITA's top-125 singles rankings. He has a 5-1 record at the No. 5 position.
» The Chris Edge and Tom Moonen pair have combined for a 10-2 record and have won their last six completed matches
» Seven Raiders have at least five wins in dual match singles, with Stijn Slump leading the way with 10
» The Blue Raiders have won 10 of the 15 doubles points.
» This will be the fifth straight power five opponent the Raiders will face, having already beaten Vanderbilt twice and Louisville wrapped around a tough loss at Auburn
All-Time vs. Alabama
» Middle Tennessee and Alabama have met 16 times, with the Crimson Tide holding a 13-3 advantage
» The two teams have not met since 2009
» The last Blue Raiders win in the series came in 2002, when they won 4-3 in the NCAA Tournament in Oxford, Mississippi.
Scouting the Crimson Tide
» Alabama sits at 10-7 on the year, having dropped three straight matches to top-50 ranked opponents, Auburn, Georgia, and Tennessee.
» Edson Ortiz comes in as the 89th ranked singles player in the country and has eight wins this season at the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd singles spots
» The doubles pair of Patrick Kaukovalta and Riccardo Roberto have picked up nine wins this spring, with eight coming at the #1 slot
Visit www.GoBlueRaiders.com for the latest news and information on the Middle Tennessee men's tennis program. Fans are also encouraged to follow the program on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/MTSUMensTennis and @MT_MensTennis on Twitter and @MT_MensTennis on Instagram.
Players Mentioned
