Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Friday, April 15
Wichita, Kan.
1:00 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
vs
Tulsa
Photo by: Matt Posey/MT Athletic Communications
No. 17 Blue Raiders Set Course to Take on No. 49 Tulsa, Wichita State in Kansas
4/14/2022 4:31:00 PM | Men's Tennis
WICHITA, Kan. – No. 17 Middle Tennessee men's tennis (23-3, 2-0) departs from Murfreesboro in-route to Kansas for a weekend battle with No. 49 Tulsa (11-9, 0-3) on Friday, April 15 at 1 p.m. One day later the team will take on hometown Wichita State (12-12), both matches will be played at the Coleman Tennis Complex to conclude the regular season.
The Blue Raiders are in pursuit of several program records this weekend, a win on Friday against Tulsa would extend the MT win streak on the season to 18-straight, would break a 43-year-old record set by Dick LaLance in 1979.
If the Raiders win both matches on the weekend, the 2021-22 Middle Tennessee men's tennis squad will reach 25 wins in the Spring, which would be the most wins and considered the best record in a single-season in program history. The current record set by Dale Short in 1996 and 1997, the team went 24-5 in consecutive seasons, in those two seasons MT captured OVC titles and were NCAA Tournament participants.
It will be a reunion this weekend for MT Assistant Coach Andrea Caligiana, he was a three-year member of the Shockers' squad from 2017-2019 during his collegiate playing days. Caligiana finished his playing career with a record of 22-19 in singles and 23-25 in doubles play, primarily playing on the top two courts for Wichita State. Cali, who entered his second year as a coach for MT this season, has been a huge asset for the Blue Raiders in that timeframe. Andrea has helped Head Coach Jimmy Borendame secure the No. 2 recruiting class amongst mid-major programs last season, that class was good enough to rank No. 33 nationally. One year later, helped the program ink Ondrej Horak, a top 200 ITF junior player from the Czech Republic to the upcoming class, which currently sits at No 30 in the nation. Caligiana has been instrumental in helping the Blue Raiders win the 2021 C-USA title and set a program record winning percentage (.884) this year.
Coming into this weekend, three Raiders retained their ITA rankings announced on April 13. Stijn Slump was one of the biggest risers across the board this week, he moves up 13 slots to No. 67 and is the highest-rated player in the C-USA. Slump sports a 16-5 singles record this Spring, four of those wins against other ranked opponents. Senior Francisco Rocha moves up three spots to No. 80, he boasts a 17-2 record in singles play and earned a spot on the C-USA All-Academic Team announced by the C-USA earlier today. Graduate Student Stepan Holis returns to the ITA Top 125 rankings this week, checking in at No. 120. Holis started the season ranked No. 106 but went 3-4 through the first eight matches of the season and lost his ranking, since then he is 11-3 in singles play and has won five of his six matches over ranked squads.
Freshman Oskar Brostrom Poulsen and Rocha retain their highest-rated doubles ranking in the C-USA, moving up 12 slots to No. 54 nationally. Together the duo owns a 11-6 record and have defeated a top-20 doubles pair and last year's NCAA Championship Finalists in Finn Murgett and Tad Maclean of Auburn on the season.
The Blue Raiders will wrap up the 2022 regular season on Saturday and shift focus to the 2022 C-USA Men's Tennis Championship in Norfolk, Va. on April 21-24. Middle Tennessee will enter the tournament as reigning back-to-back champions of the event.
Match 27: No. 17 Middle Tennessee (23-3, 2-0 C-USA) vs. No. 49 Tulsa (11-9, 0-3 AAC)
- Friday, April 15, 2022 – 1:00 p.m.
- Coleman Tennis Complex
- Middle Tennessee owns a 3-2 record over Tulsa, Friday's match is the sixth meeting on neutral courts.
- No. 49 Tulsa enters the weekend at 11-9 after dropping five-straight matches against ranked squads. The Golden Hurricane is led by No. 87 Kody Pearson who has a 12-5 record playing on the top court. Tulsa picked up a win 4-0 over Wichita State today in Wichita.
Match 28: No. 17 Middle Tennessee (23-3, 2-0 C-USA) at Wichita State (12-12, 0-0 American)
- Saturday, April 16, 2022 – 1:00 p.m.
- Coleman Tennis Complex
- Saturday's match will be the fourth meeting between MT and WSU, the Blue Raiders lead the all-time series 2-1. The series is split 1-1 with matches in Wichita.
- Wichita State enters Saturday's match at 12-12 after dropping four of their last five contests, all four losses have come against ranked opponents, similar to Tulsa.
Follow us
Follow Middle Tennessee men's tennis on social media - Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), Twitter (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (MT_MensTennis).
The Blue Raiders are in pursuit of several program records this weekend, a win on Friday against Tulsa would extend the MT win streak on the season to 18-straight, would break a 43-year-old record set by Dick LaLance in 1979.
If the Raiders win both matches on the weekend, the 2021-22 Middle Tennessee men's tennis squad will reach 25 wins in the Spring, which would be the most wins and considered the best record in a single-season in program history. The current record set by Dale Short in 1996 and 1997, the team went 24-5 in consecutive seasons, in those two seasons MT captured OVC titles and were NCAA Tournament participants.
It will be a reunion this weekend for MT Assistant Coach Andrea Caligiana, he was a three-year member of the Shockers' squad from 2017-2019 during his collegiate playing days. Caligiana finished his playing career with a record of 22-19 in singles and 23-25 in doubles play, primarily playing on the top two courts for Wichita State. Cali, who entered his second year as a coach for MT this season, has been a huge asset for the Blue Raiders in that timeframe. Andrea has helped Head Coach Jimmy Borendame secure the No. 2 recruiting class amongst mid-major programs last season, that class was good enough to rank No. 33 nationally. One year later, helped the program ink Ondrej Horak, a top 200 ITF junior player from the Czech Republic to the upcoming class, which currently sits at No 30 in the nation. Caligiana has been instrumental in helping the Blue Raiders win the 2021 C-USA title and set a program record winning percentage (.884) this year.
Coming into this weekend, three Raiders retained their ITA rankings announced on April 13. Stijn Slump was one of the biggest risers across the board this week, he moves up 13 slots to No. 67 and is the highest-rated player in the C-USA. Slump sports a 16-5 singles record this Spring, four of those wins against other ranked opponents. Senior Francisco Rocha moves up three spots to No. 80, he boasts a 17-2 record in singles play and earned a spot on the C-USA All-Academic Team announced by the C-USA earlier today. Graduate Student Stepan Holis returns to the ITA Top 125 rankings this week, checking in at No. 120. Holis started the season ranked No. 106 but went 3-4 through the first eight matches of the season and lost his ranking, since then he is 11-3 in singles play and has won five of his six matches over ranked squads.
Freshman Oskar Brostrom Poulsen and Rocha retain their highest-rated doubles ranking in the C-USA, moving up 12 slots to No. 54 nationally. Together the duo owns a 11-6 record and have defeated a top-20 doubles pair and last year's NCAA Championship Finalists in Finn Murgett and Tad Maclean of Auburn on the season.
The Blue Raiders will wrap up the 2022 regular season on Saturday and shift focus to the 2022 C-USA Men's Tennis Championship in Norfolk, Va. on April 21-24. Middle Tennessee will enter the tournament as reigning back-to-back champions of the event.
Match 27: No. 17 Middle Tennessee (23-3, 2-0 C-USA) vs. No. 49 Tulsa (11-9, 0-3 AAC)
- Friday, April 15, 2022 – 1:00 p.m.
- Coleman Tennis Complex
- Middle Tennessee owns a 3-2 record over Tulsa, Friday's match is the sixth meeting on neutral courts.
- No. 49 Tulsa enters the weekend at 11-9 after dropping five-straight matches against ranked squads. The Golden Hurricane is led by No. 87 Kody Pearson who has a 12-5 record playing on the top court. Tulsa picked up a win 4-0 over Wichita State today in Wichita.
Match 28: No. 17 Middle Tennessee (23-3, 2-0 C-USA) at Wichita State (12-12, 0-0 American)
- Saturday, April 16, 2022 – 1:00 p.m.
- Coleman Tennis Complex
- Saturday's match will be the fourth meeting between MT and WSU, the Blue Raiders lead the all-time series 2-1. The series is split 1-1 with matches in Wichita.
- Wichita State enters Saturday's match at 12-12 after dropping four of their last five contests, all four losses have come against ranked opponents, similar to Tulsa.
Follow us
Follow Middle Tennessee men's tennis on social media - Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), Twitter (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (MT_MensTennis).
Players Mentioned
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