Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, January 16
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
5:00 P.M.
Middle Tennessee
2
vs
5
Tennessee
Blue Raiders Fall 5-2 in Hard Fought Season Opener vs. Tennessee
1/16/2025 9:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – In an opening night match at the ATC, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (0-1) fell in a hard-fought 5-2 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) in the official kickoff to the 2025 season.
The Blue Raiders began doubles play with a 6-1 loss in the No. 3 seeded match but followed that with a win by No. 1 doubles team Karim Al-Amin and Ondrej Horak 6-2 over Tennessee's Alan Jesudason and Jan Kobierski. The Volunteers ultimately claimed the double point with a 6-4 win in the No. 2 spot with Shunsuke Mitsui and James Newton defeating Shu Matsuoka and Jakub Kroslak.
In singles play, MTSU evened the score at one, as freshman Kacper Szymkowiak took down Kobierski in straight sets to claim his first collegiate win. Following another point going the way of Tennessee, Matsuoka brought the sides level again with a 6-2, 7-5 win over UT's Jesudason.
The Volunteers would close out the match with three consecutive victories in the second, fourth and sixth-seeded matches to secure the 5-2 victory on the road.
Quote from Coach Borendame
"The support today was awesome. I want to thank all the fans for coming out. It's always so cool to see that. We just came up short in a couple key spots. We will get better and there is lots to build on."
Next Up
Following their season opener against Tennessee, the Blue Raiders will close out the first week of the 2025 season against the Lipscomb Bisons at 1 p.m. and the UT Southern Firehawks at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the Adams Tennis Complex.
Results vs. Tennessee
Doubles
Karim Al-Amin/Ondrej Horak (MTSU) def. Jan Kobierski/Alan Jesudason (UT) 6-2
Shunsuke Mitsui/James Newton (UT) def. Shu Matsuoka/Jakub Kroslak (MTSU) 6-4
Alex Kotzen/Jose Garcia (UT) def. Rostislav Halfinger/Kacper Szymkowiak (MTSU) 6-1
Singles
Alex Kotzen (UT) def. Karim Al-Amin (MTSU) 6-3, 6-3
Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. Jakub Kroslak (MTSU) 7-6 (7), 6-2
Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) def. Alan Jesudason (UT) 6-2, 7-5
Jose Garcia (UT) def. Ondrej Horak (MTSU) 7-6 (7), 6-4
Kacper Szymkowiak (MTSU) def. Jan Kobierski (UT) 6-2, 6-1
Ian Cruz (UT) def. Rostislav Halfinger (MTSU) 7-6 (7), 6-3
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Tennis on social media on Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), X (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (mt_menstennis).
The Blue Raiders began doubles play with a 6-1 loss in the No. 3 seeded match but followed that with a win by No. 1 doubles team Karim Al-Amin and Ondrej Horak 6-2 over Tennessee's Alan Jesudason and Jan Kobierski. The Volunteers ultimately claimed the double point with a 6-4 win in the No. 2 spot with Shunsuke Mitsui and James Newton defeating Shu Matsuoka and Jakub Kroslak.
In singles play, MTSU evened the score at one, as freshman Kacper Szymkowiak took down Kobierski in straight sets to claim his first collegiate win. Following another point going the way of Tennessee, Matsuoka brought the sides level again with a 6-2, 7-5 win over UT's Jesudason.
The Volunteers would close out the match with three consecutive victories in the second, fourth and sixth-seeded matches to secure the 5-2 victory on the road.
Quote from Coach Borendame
"The support today was awesome. I want to thank all the fans for coming out. It's always so cool to see that. We just came up short in a couple key spots. We will get better and there is lots to build on."
Next Up
Following their season opener against Tennessee, the Blue Raiders will close out the first week of the 2025 season against the Lipscomb Bisons at 1 p.m. and the UT Southern Firehawks at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the Adams Tennis Complex.
Results vs. Tennessee
Doubles
Karim Al-Amin/Ondrej Horak (MTSU) def. Jan Kobierski/Alan Jesudason (UT) 6-2
Shunsuke Mitsui/James Newton (UT) def. Shu Matsuoka/Jakub Kroslak (MTSU) 6-4
Alex Kotzen/Jose Garcia (UT) def. Rostislav Halfinger/Kacper Szymkowiak (MTSU) 6-1
Singles
Alex Kotzen (UT) def. Karim Al-Amin (MTSU) 6-3, 6-3
Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. Jakub Kroslak (MTSU) 7-6 (7), 6-2
Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) def. Alan Jesudason (UT) 6-2, 7-5
Jose Garcia (UT) def. Ondrej Horak (MTSU) 7-6 (7), 6-4
Kacper Szymkowiak (MTSU) def. Jan Kobierski (UT) 6-2, 6-1
Ian Cruz (UT) def. Rostislav Halfinger (MTSU) 7-6 (7), 6-3
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Men's Tennis on social media on Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis), X (MT_MensTennis) and Instagram (mt_menstennis).
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Alex Kotzen / 0 [TENN]
66
33
#2 Singles Match
12
Shunsuke Mitusi / 0 [TENN]
76
62
#3 Singles Match
12
Alan Jesudason / 0 [TENN]
25
67
#4 Singles Match
12
Jose Garcia / 0 [TENN]
76
64
#5 Singles Match
12
Jan Kobierski / 0 [TENN]
21
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Ian Cruz / 0 [TENN]
76
63
Order of Finish:
1,2,3,4,5,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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