Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, February 9
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
5 PM
Middle Tennessee
6
vs
1
Virginia Tech
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Ryan Fishback / 0 (102/-) [VT]
40
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Maxime St. Hilaire / 0 [VT]
24
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Hugo Maia / 0 [VT]
22
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Michael Shepheard / 0 [VT]
42
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Alex Ix / 0 [VT]
674
7610
#6 Singles Match
12
Alberto Orso / 0 [VT]
22
66
Order of Finish:
6,1,3,4,2,5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Photo by: Owen Fink/MTSU Athletic Communications
Middle Tennessee men’s tennis hands Virginia Tech its’ first loss of the season
2/9/2024 8:33:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Murfreesboro, Tenn.—Middle Tennessee's (6-3) men's tennis team responded to adversity once again in front of the Blue Raider faithful on Friday night. After losing a tough doubles point, MTSU quickly erased any doubt that it would fall on Friday evening by dominating in singles play in a 6-1 win over the previously undefeated Virginia Tech Hokies (5-1).
MTSU's duo of Ondrej Horak and Leo Raquin moved to 7-0 on the year with a 6-3 win in doubles play, but the Blue Raiders wound up conceding the doubles point to the Hokies after falling 4-6 on courts one and three.
Middle Tennessee's Karim Al-Amin played Alex Ix to one of the longest tiebreakers in recent memory in his first set, winning 16-14 in his tiebreaker, which was the defining moment for the resolve that his team showed against yet another Power Five opponent. As Al-Amin's first set came to a close, teammates Demis Taramonlis and Ondrej Horak put the Blue Raiders up 2-1 in the match with 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-2 wins on courts six and three.
The No. 18 singles player in the country, Leo Raquin, capped off an impressive day by picking up a team-high sixth singles win over No. 102 Ryan Fishback 6-4, 6-0 to make it a 3-1 match.
After falling behind 4-1 in his first set, Tokyo, Japan, native Shu Matsuoka won five straight games to take the first set 6-4 and won his second set 6-2 to clinch the match for MTSU. Matsuoka's classmate, No. 79 Marcel Kamrowski scored a 6-2, 6-4 win over on court two before Karim Al-Amin finished up the match down on court five with a gutsy 7-6 (14), 6-7 (3), 10-4.
Head Coach Jimmy Borendame
On the win over another quality Power Five opponent: "This one's a little different. My old boss, Coach Jim Thompson has done a phenomenal job over at Virginia Tech. It's a special place for me, meeting my wife and coaching there. We have a lot of similar philosophies as coaches, so it was pretty cool to see our guys rebound after falling in doubles and come out strong in singles to beat a good team."
On Karim-Al Amin's tiebreak: "Karim has been itching to get in. Today was an opportunity to get in and to win was big. It's great for his confidence and shows our depth. I think we have even more depth with guys like Javier (Cueto Ramos) and Igor Berranger and Kristian (Thomas). Depth is the name of the game these days."
Player's Perspective: SR. Leo Raquin
On defeating his third ranked opponent of the year in singles play: "I'm happy for the win for the team. I'm really proud. The last three years playing at Temple I didn't have the chance to play against many ranked guys. This year, I've been fortunate to beat three ranked players, but it's a team sport and we won as a group tonight, so I'm happy for the team."
On doubles success with Ondrej Horak: "It's funny because before the spring we didn't play much together. I like the way he plays. We fit each other's game. We have good hands and move together well. I like him off the court, as well. He's a good guy so we work well together."
On the resolve the team showed to come back after losing the doubles point: "When Virginia Tech won doubles, we got hyped and knew we couldn't lose in front of our home fans. We broke on almost every court and showed that we had a good fighting spirit tonight."
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Ryan Fishback/ Maxime St. Hilaire (VT) def. Javier Cueto Ramos/ Jakub Kroslak (MTSU) 6-4
2. Ondrej Horak/ Leo Raquin (MTSU) def. Matt Harper Alberto Orso (VT) 6-3
3. Alex Ix/ Michael Shepheard (VT) def. Karim Al-Amin/ Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES RESULTS
1. #18 Leo Raquin (MTSU) def. #102 Ryan Fishback (VT) 6-4, 6-0
2. #79 Marcel Kamrowski (MTSU) def. Maxime St. Hilaire (VT) 6-2, 6-4
3. Ondrej Horak (MTSU) def. Hugo Maia (VT) 6-2, 6-2
4. Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) def. Michael Shepheard (VT) 6-4, 6-2
5. Karim Al-Amin (MTSU) def. Alex Ix (VT) 7-6 (14), 6-7 (3), 10-4
6. Demis Taramonlis (MTSU) def. Alberto Orso (VT) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 1, 3, 4, 2, 5
Next Up
Middle Tennessee will hit the road and head north to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the Indiana Hoosiers this Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee men's tennis on social media on Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), Twitter (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (MT_MensTennis).
MTSU's duo of Ondrej Horak and Leo Raquin moved to 7-0 on the year with a 6-3 win in doubles play, but the Blue Raiders wound up conceding the doubles point to the Hokies after falling 4-6 on courts one and three.
Middle Tennessee's Karim Al-Amin played Alex Ix to one of the longest tiebreakers in recent memory in his first set, winning 16-14 in his tiebreaker, which was the defining moment for the resolve that his team showed against yet another Power Five opponent. As Al-Amin's first set came to a close, teammates Demis Taramonlis and Ondrej Horak put the Blue Raiders up 2-1 in the match with 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-2 wins on courts six and three.
The No. 18 singles player in the country, Leo Raquin, capped off an impressive day by picking up a team-high sixth singles win over No. 102 Ryan Fishback 6-4, 6-0 to make it a 3-1 match.
After falling behind 4-1 in his first set, Tokyo, Japan, native Shu Matsuoka won five straight games to take the first set 6-4 and won his second set 6-2 to clinch the match for MTSU. Matsuoka's classmate, No. 79 Marcel Kamrowski scored a 6-2, 6-4 win over on court two before Karim Al-Amin finished up the match down on court five with a gutsy 7-6 (14), 6-7 (3), 10-4.
Head Coach Jimmy Borendame
On the win over another quality Power Five opponent: "This one's a little different. My old boss, Coach Jim Thompson has done a phenomenal job over at Virginia Tech. It's a special place for me, meeting my wife and coaching there. We have a lot of similar philosophies as coaches, so it was pretty cool to see our guys rebound after falling in doubles and come out strong in singles to beat a good team."
On Karim-Al Amin's tiebreak: "Karim has been itching to get in. Today was an opportunity to get in and to win was big. It's great for his confidence and shows our depth. I think we have even more depth with guys like Javier (Cueto Ramos) and Igor Berranger and Kristian (Thomas). Depth is the name of the game these days."
Player's Perspective: SR. Leo Raquin
On defeating his third ranked opponent of the year in singles play: "I'm happy for the win for the team. I'm really proud. The last three years playing at Temple I didn't have the chance to play against many ranked guys. This year, I've been fortunate to beat three ranked players, but it's a team sport and we won as a group tonight, so I'm happy for the team."
On doubles success with Ondrej Horak: "It's funny because before the spring we didn't play much together. I like the way he plays. We fit each other's game. We have good hands and move together well. I like him off the court, as well. He's a good guy so we work well together."
On the resolve the team showed to come back after losing the doubles point: "When Virginia Tech won doubles, we got hyped and knew we couldn't lose in front of our home fans. We broke on almost every court and showed that we had a good fighting spirit tonight."
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Ryan Fishback/ Maxime St. Hilaire (VT) def. Javier Cueto Ramos/ Jakub Kroslak (MTSU) 6-4
2. Ondrej Horak/ Leo Raquin (MTSU) def. Matt Harper Alberto Orso (VT) 6-3
3. Alex Ix/ Michael Shepheard (VT) def. Karim Al-Amin/ Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES RESULTS
1. #18 Leo Raquin (MTSU) def. #102 Ryan Fishback (VT) 6-4, 6-0
2. #79 Marcel Kamrowski (MTSU) def. Maxime St. Hilaire (VT) 6-2, 6-4
3. Ondrej Horak (MTSU) def. Hugo Maia (VT) 6-2, 6-2
4. Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) def. Michael Shepheard (VT) 6-4, 6-2
5. Karim Al-Amin (MTSU) def. Alex Ix (VT) 7-6 (14), 6-7 (3), 10-4
6. Demis Taramonlis (MTSU) def. Alberto Orso (VT) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 1, 3, 4, 2, 5
Next Up
Middle Tennessee will hit the road and head north to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the Indiana Hoosiers this Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT.
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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