Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Men’s tennis completes a successful fall slate
11/7/2023 11:24:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — After Leo Raquin's trip to the ITA Fall Nationals, Middle Tennessee men's tennis wrapped up play for the fall.
"This fall we got plenty of matches in and we learned a lot about our team, said MTSU Head Coach Jimmy Borendame. "We have established who our leaders are and continue to make progress. Doubles will still need to be addressed and it will be as we figure out who the pairs will be. Our competitive team events are done but what I like is that our guys are still competing on their own and getting additional matches in. How good we will be this spring will be determined by what we do from now until January."
To begin the fall slate, MTSU traveled to Miramar Beach, Fla. for the TOPS'L Battle at the Beach. The Blue Raiders faced Florida State, Georgia State and Tulane. Karim Al-Amin and Shu Matsuoka tallied two doubles wins. Igor Mandou Berranger won two singles. Matsuoka and Kristian Thomas each picked up a singles win.
After the TOPS'L Battle at the Beach, MTSU split up to compete at the Alabama Four in the Fall and the ITA All-Americans.
The same four Blue Raiders from the TOPS'L Battle at the Beach competed at the Alabama Four in the Fall. They took on Alabama, Louisville and Tulane. Al-Amin and Matsuoka went three-for-three in doubles. Al-Amin and Mandou Berranger earned two singles wins as Matsuoka and Thomas won one singles.
Javier Cueto Ramos, Ondrej Horak, Marcel Kamrowski, Leo Raquin and Demis Taramonlis headed to the ITA All-Americans in Tulsa, Okla. Raquin tallied four wins to reach the qualifying draw of the tournament. Raquin became the second player under Coach Borendame to advance from the pre-qualifications draw to the qualifications draw. The Besancon, France native took down No. 107 Jorge Plans Gonzalez of UCLA 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Horak earned three wins and was one win short of moving on to the qualifying draw. Cueto Ramos won his first singles match before falling short in the second match. Kamrowski and Taramonlis fell in their first singles match but picked up a win in their consolation match.
The ITA Regional Champioships in Chattanooga, Tenn. was next on MTSU's schedule.
Al-Amin, Horak, Kamrowski, Raquin and Taramonlis advanced to the Round of 16 of the tournament. Al-Amin picked up a ranked win over No. 42 Natan Rodrigues of Louisville 6-2, 6-4. Kamrowksi defeat No. 24 Etienne Donnet of Louisville 6-4, 7-6 (4) to advance to the semifinals. Kamrowski would face Horak in the semis with Kamrowski coming out on top. Raquin defeated Memphis Pau Fanlo 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 and clinched a spot at the ITA Fall Nationals.
The Vanderbilt Hidden Duals was the last team event of the fall. MTSU competed against Memphis, Georgia Tech, Belmont and Vanderbilt.
Raquin continued his great play by going undefeated at the Vandebilt Hidden Duals. Leo defeated No. 35 Pablo Alemany of Memphis 6-3, 6-4. He won two singles and three doubles. Cueto Ramos picked up a win in all three singles. Al-Amin and Mandou Berranger tallied four victories winning two singles and two doubles.
Since Raquin won the ITA Regional Championship, he qualified for the ITA Fall Nationals in San Diego, Calif. He fell in the first round on the tournament. Raquin would fight back in the consolation draw reaching the final of the consolation. The Besancon, France picked up his third ranked win in the semis against No. 23 Colton Smith of Arizona. Raquin earned the ITA Sportsmanship Award.
"I believe we achieved a lot throughout this fall," said MTSU Associate Head Coach Andrea Caligiana. "The boys worked very hard and made lots of improvements. Having a lot of new guys, it was very important to establish our culture and our values. We had very good results but that is only a consequence of the hard work the boys have put on and off the court. I'm looking forward to see the boys playing many tournaments unattached in the next few weeks. I am hoping they put all the things we have been working on in their matches."
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee men's tennis on social media on Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), Twitter (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (MT_MensTennis).
"This fall we got plenty of matches in and we learned a lot about our team, said MTSU Head Coach Jimmy Borendame. "We have established who our leaders are and continue to make progress. Doubles will still need to be addressed and it will be as we figure out who the pairs will be. Our competitive team events are done but what I like is that our guys are still competing on their own and getting additional matches in. How good we will be this spring will be determined by what we do from now until January."
To begin the fall slate, MTSU traveled to Miramar Beach, Fla. for the TOPS'L Battle at the Beach. The Blue Raiders faced Florida State, Georgia State and Tulane. Karim Al-Amin and Shu Matsuoka tallied two doubles wins. Igor Mandou Berranger won two singles. Matsuoka and Kristian Thomas each picked up a singles win.
After the TOPS'L Battle at the Beach, MTSU split up to compete at the Alabama Four in the Fall and the ITA All-Americans.
The same four Blue Raiders from the TOPS'L Battle at the Beach competed at the Alabama Four in the Fall. They took on Alabama, Louisville and Tulane. Al-Amin and Matsuoka went three-for-three in doubles. Al-Amin and Mandou Berranger earned two singles wins as Matsuoka and Thomas won one singles.
Javier Cueto Ramos, Ondrej Horak, Marcel Kamrowski, Leo Raquin and Demis Taramonlis headed to the ITA All-Americans in Tulsa, Okla. Raquin tallied four wins to reach the qualifying draw of the tournament. Raquin became the second player under Coach Borendame to advance from the pre-qualifications draw to the qualifications draw. The Besancon, France native took down No. 107 Jorge Plans Gonzalez of UCLA 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Horak earned three wins and was one win short of moving on to the qualifying draw. Cueto Ramos won his first singles match before falling short in the second match. Kamrowski and Taramonlis fell in their first singles match but picked up a win in their consolation match.
The ITA Regional Champioships in Chattanooga, Tenn. was next on MTSU's schedule.
Al-Amin, Horak, Kamrowski, Raquin and Taramonlis advanced to the Round of 16 of the tournament. Al-Amin picked up a ranked win over No. 42 Natan Rodrigues of Louisville 6-2, 6-4. Kamrowksi defeat No. 24 Etienne Donnet of Louisville 6-4, 7-6 (4) to advance to the semifinals. Kamrowski would face Horak in the semis with Kamrowski coming out on top. Raquin defeated Memphis Pau Fanlo 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 and clinched a spot at the ITA Fall Nationals.
The Vanderbilt Hidden Duals was the last team event of the fall. MTSU competed against Memphis, Georgia Tech, Belmont and Vanderbilt.
Raquin continued his great play by going undefeated at the Vandebilt Hidden Duals. Leo defeated No. 35 Pablo Alemany of Memphis 6-3, 6-4. He won two singles and three doubles. Cueto Ramos picked up a win in all three singles. Al-Amin and Mandou Berranger tallied four victories winning two singles and two doubles.
Since Raquin won the ITA Regional Championship, he qualified for the ITA Fall Nationals in San Diego, Calif. He fell in the first round on the tournament. Raquin would fight back in the consolation draw reaching the final of the consolation. The Besancon, France picked up his third ranked win in the semis against No. 23 Colton Smith of Arizona. Raquin earned the ITA Sportsmanship Award.
"I believe we achieved a lot throughout this fall," said MTSU Associate Head Coach Andrea Caligiana. "The boys worked very hard and made lots of improvements. Having a lot of new guys, it was very important to establish our culture and our values. We had very good results but that is only a consequence of the hard work the boys have put on and off the court. I'm looking forward to see the boys playing many tournaments unattached in the next few weeks. I am hoping they put all the things we have been working on in their matches."
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee men's tennis on social media on Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), Twitter (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (MT_MensTennis).
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