Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, May 6
Raleigh, N.C.
12:00 p.m. CT
Middle Tennessee
4
vs
0
UNC Wilmington
16-Seed Blue Raiders Blank UNC Wilmington in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament
5/6/2022 3:55:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Third NCAA Tournament win in Program History
RALEIGH, N.C. – 16-seed Middle Tennessee men's tennis (28-4) blanks UNC Wilmington by a score of 4-0 in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon outside the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
With the win, the Blue Raiders advance to the NCAA Second Round for the third time in program history and the first time under head coach Jimmy Borendame. Friday's win also marks Coach Borendame's first victory as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament.
"Came out solid in doubles, it was kind of interesting that the other team came out with a lot of fire. But we got the early breaks on a couple of courts and then Francisco Rocha and Oskar Brostrom Poulsen battled back to get back in the doubles set, it was very efficient overall," said Borendame. "In singles, I believe it was a poor start, we got down breaks on a couple courts right away, but the guys hung around, didn't go away, and stayed very calm. It was an interesting crowd, they were definently against us, we knew that, but it was good. Little prep, because tomorrow will be much tougher and again, the crowd is going to be against us. We're going to need to bring the energy, cause in our eyes, we're the underdog tomorrow." said Borendame following the match.
To kick off the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Raiders surged with two 6-3 wins on court Nos. 2 and 3 to claim the doubles point. Graduate Students Chris Edge and Stepan Holis cruised on court three to move to 22-4 as a duo on the season.
No. 70 Rocha and Brostrom Poulsen struggled on the top court against UNCW's David Gooch and Bekhod Rasamatov in doubles play. The Seahawk duo led by as much as 5-2 deep in the set, the Blue Raider pair would fight to bring the score to 5-4 before their match was declared unfinished.
Seniors Stijn Slump and Pavel Motl showed their NCAA Tournament experience by breaking the set and claiming the next two games to finish at 6-3 to give MT the crucial doubles point.
In singles, Middle Tennessee would take the early advantage by winning four of six first sets over UNCW.
Motl was the first Raider to finish his singles match, claiming a straight-set 6-2 win over Trey Mallory to push the lead to two. The Prstice, Czech Republic native moves to 11-1 on court No. 6 on the season and has won his last six matches.
Slump would place MT up three points in the dual match with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Innocenti. In finished matches, the Havelte, Netherlands product has won seven of his last nine.
Minutes later, Graduate Transfer Holis silenced the crowd with a 6-2, 6-4 win over his UNCW opponent to clinch the match at 4-0 and send Middle Tennessee to the Round of 32.
Middle Tennessee survives and advances to face the winner of No. 20 North Carolina State or No. 65 Liberty in the NCAA Second Round, which will conclude later this evening. Saturday's match against NC State or Liberty has already been pushed back one hour (3:00 p.m. CT) due to inclement weather in the Raleigh area, allowing the NCAA Women's Tournament to play two full matches inside in the morning.
Fans can stream tomorrow's match by downloading the TennisONE app and live stats can be found here. More information about the Raleigh regional can be found on the Wolfpack website.
Singles competition
1. #65 SLUMP, Stijn (MTSU) def. Davide Innocenti (UNCW) 6-2, 6-4
2. #100 ROCHA, Francisco (MTSU) vs. Reece Falck (UNCW) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
3. EDGE, Chris (MTSU) vs. Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) 4-6, 6-4, unfinished
4. HOLIS, Stepan (MTSU) def. Gabe Hurtado (UNCW) 6-2, 6-4
5. POULSEN, Oskar (MTSU) vs. Harold Huens (UNCW) 6-7 (6-8), 0-3, unfinished
6. MOTL, Pavel (MTSU) def. Trey Mallory (UNCW) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: Singles (6,1,4)
Doubles competition
1. #70 POULSEN, Oskar/ROCHA, Francisco (MTSU) vs. D. Gooch/B. Rasamatov (UNCW) 4-5, unf.
2. MOTL, Pavel/SLUMP, Stijn (MTSU) def. Davide Innocenti/Reece Falck (UNCW) 6-3
3. HOLIS, Stepan/EDGE, Chris (MTSU) def. Gabe Hurtado/Trey Mallory (UNCW) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2)
Match Notes
UNCW 15-9
Middle Tennessee 28-4; National ranking #19
2022 NCAA Championships First Round
Played outdoors
Time-2:03, Attendance-112
Follow us
Follow Middle Tennessee men's tennis on social media - Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), Twitter (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (MT_MensTennis).
With the win, the Blue Raiders advance to the NCAA Second Round for the third time in program history and the first time under head coach Jimmy Borendame. Friday's win also marks Coach Borendame's first victory as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament.
"Came out solid in doubles, it was kind of interesting that the other team came out with a lot of fire. But we got the early breaks on a couple of courts and then Francisco Rocha and Oskar Brostrom Poulsen battled back to get back in the doubles set, it was very efficient overall," said Borendame. "In singles, I believe it was a poor start, we got down breaks on a couple courts right away, but the guys hung around, didn't go away, and stayed very calm. It was an interesting crowd, they were definently against us, we knew that, but it was good. Little prep, because tomorrow will be much tougher and again, the crowd is going to be against us. We're going to need to bring the energy, cause in our eyes, we're the underdog tomorrow." said Borendame following the match.
To kick off the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Raiders surged with two 6-3 wins on court Nos. 2 and 3 to claim the doubles point. Graduate Students Chris Edge and Stepan Holis cruised on court three to move to 22-4 as a duo on the season.
No. 70 Rocha and Brostrom Poulsen struggled on the top court against UNCW's David Gooch and Bekhod Rasamatov in doubles play. The Seahawk duo led by as much as 5-2 deep in the set, the Blue Raider pair would fight to bring the score to 5-4 before their match was declared unfinished.
Seniors Stijn Slump and Pavel Motl showed their NCAA Tournament experience by breaking the set and claiming the next two games to finish at 6-3 to give MT the crucial doubles point.
In singles, Middle Tennessee would take the early advantage by winning four of six first sets over UNCW.
Motl was the first Raider to finish his singles match, claiming a straight-set 6-2 win over Trey Mallory to push the lead to two. The Prstice, Czech Republic native moves to 11-1 on court No. 6 on the season and has won his last six matches.
Slump would place MT up three points in the dual match with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Innocenti. In finished matches, the Havelte, Netherlands product has won seven of his last nine.
Minutes later, Graduate Transfer Holis silenced the crowd with a 6-2, 6-4 win over his UNCW opponent to clinch the match at 4-0 and send Middle Tennessee to the Round of 32.
Middle Tennessee survives and advances to face the winner of No. 20 North Carolina State or No. 65 Liberty in the NCAA Second Round, which will conclude later this evening. Saturday's match against NC State or Liberty has already been pushed back one hour (3:00 p.m. CT) due to inclement weather in the Raleigh area, allowing the NCAA Women's Tournament to play two full matches inside in the morning.
Fans can stream tomorrow's match by downloading the TennisONE app and live stats can be found here. More information about the Raleigh regional can be found on the Wolfpack website.
Singles competition
1. #65 SLUMP, Stijn (MTSU) def. Davide Innocenti (UNCW) 6-2, 6-4
2. #100 ROCHA, Francisco (MTSU) vs. Reece Falck (UNCW) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
3. EDGE, Chris (MTSU) vs. Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) 4-6, 6-4, unfinished
4. HOLIS, Stepan (MTSU) def. Gabe Hurtado (UNCW) 6-2, 6-4
5. POULSEN, Oskar (MTSU) vs. Harold Huens (UNCW) 6-7 (6-8), 0-3, unfinished
6. MOTL, Pavel (MTSU) def. Trey Mallory (UNCW) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: Singles (6,1,4)
Doubles competition
1. #70 POULSEN, Oskar/ROCHA, Francisco (MTSU) vs. D. Gooch/B. Rasamatov (UNCW) 4-5, unf.
2. MOTL, Pavel/SLUMP, Stijn (MTSU) def. Davide Innocenti/Reece Falck (UNCW) 6-3
3. HOLIS, Stepan/EDGE, Chris (MTSU) def. Gabe Hurtado/Trey Mallory (UNCW) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2)
Match Notes
UNCW 15-9
Middle Tennessee 28-4; National ranking #19
2022 NCAA Championships First Round
Played outdoors
Time-2:03, Attendance-112
Follow us
Follow Middle Tennessee men's tennis on social media - Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), Twitter (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (MT_MensTennis).
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Davide Innocenti / 0 [UNCW]
24
66
#2 Singles Match
123
Reece Falck / 0 [UNCW]
330
65UF
#3 Singles Match
123
Bekhzod Rasamatov / 0 [UNCW]
640
46UF
#4 Singles Match
12
Gabe Hurtado / 0 [UNCW]
24
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Harold Huens / 0 [UNCW]
730
60UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Trey Mallory / 0 [UNCW]
22
66
Order of Finish:
6,1,4
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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