Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raiders advance in day two of ITA Ohio Valley Regionals
10/9/2026 10:56:00 PM | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – Out of the six Blue Raiders to compete in singles and the three pairs in doubles, three players and two pairs advanced into Saturday competition at the 2026 ITA Ohio Valley Regionals.
Birtan Duran, Eric Crivei and Aryan Saleh all began their runs in the regional today, with all three picking up first-day victories against their opponents.
In doubles, Antoine Mayoral and Clement Mayoral won their bout, while Crivei and Saleh continued to excel as a pair with their victory on the day.
Duran began his tournament against Purdue's Jacob Lee, who proved stingy at first. In set one, the two were tied at three all, before the Blue Raider pulled away to win, 6-3. In the second set, Lee jumped out to a 4-1 lead, with all signs pointing to a third set. Duran then stormed back, winning five unanswered games to win, 6-4, and take the match.
Just after Duran's match began, Crivei found himself in a tight battle against Louisville's Hamza El Amine. The junior defeated the Cardinal to begin the match, comfortably claiming the first set, 6-3.
The second set operated mostly in El Amine's favor, with Crivei staying within a game's reach for most of the bout. Once the set went to a deuce at 5-5, the Blue Raider edged out his opponent, winning two consecutive games to claim the set, 7-5.
For MTSU's final singles win of the day, Saleh was made to work for it, taking down Vanderbilt's Hugo Coquelin in a three-set battle, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3). In set one, Coquelin jumped out with the lead and never looked back. Saleh turned the tides in set two, jumping to a 4-1 lead before finishing with the victory.
The final set was nail-biting, with the advantage teetering between Saleh and Coquelin throughout. It began just as the first one did, with the Commodore jumping out to an early lead. Saleh refused to give up, storming back from 4-1 down to take a 5-4 advantage. The bout ended in a 6-6 draw, before the German senior decided the tiebreaker game, winning 7-3.
Clement was unable to defeat Tennessee's Orel Kimhi, falling in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
The two singles competitors that advanced through the qualifiers were also unable to progress any further, as both Ayllon Prado and Antoine fell in straight sets to their opponents.
Ayllon Prado was the victim of Indiana's Sam Landau's play, falling 6-0, 6-2, while Antoine was unable to overcome Kentucky's Mikael Arsenault, falling 6-3, 6-3.
In doubles, the Mayoral brothers got the better of Belmont's Cagan Efe Tufekci and Sean Clark, winning 8-5 to start the day strong.
Crivei and Saleh continued their fine form as a pair with their defeat of Xavier's Lukas Grossman and Andrew Spurck, taking the tight contest. 8-6.
The Blue Raiders only dropped one doubles contest, as John Popowich and Ayllon Prado fell, 8-5, to IU-Indianapolis' Cameron Kryscio and Ellison Minnaar.
Looking on towards Saturday's doubles round of 32, Middle Tennessee will begin at 10 a.m. with its first of two pairs, as the Mayoral brothers face off against ETSU's Oscar Martinez and Dmitry Kopilevich for a spot in the last 16.
Crivei and Saleh will hope their rackets stay hot when they match up with Indiana's Aryan Badlani and Ariel Zauber at 11 a.m.
Saturday's round of 32 singles matches will begin following the conclusion of doubles competition, with Duran, Crivei and Saleh all beginning play at 12:30 p.m.
Duran will meet Kentucky's Eli Stephenson, Crivei will match with Purdue's Lorenzo Balducci and Saleh will line up against Purdue's Juan David Velasquez.
In the singles consolation bracket, Antoine and Asier are yet to hear who their opponents will be.
Results
Singles
Birtan Duran (MTSU) def. Jacob Lee (Purdue), 6-3, 6-4
Sam Landau (Indiana) def. Asier Ayllon Prado (MTSU), 6-0, 6-2
Eric Crivei (MTSU) def. Hamza El Amine (Louisville), 6-3, 7-5
Aryan Saleh (MTSU) def. Hugo Coquelin (Vanderbilt), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Mikael Arsenault (Kentucky) def. Antoine Mayoral (MTSU), 6-3, 6-3
Orel Kimhi (Tennessee) def. Clement Mayoral (MTSU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
Mayoral/Mayoral (MTSU) def. Tufekci/Clark (Belmont), 8-5
Kryscio/Minnaar (IU-Indianapolis) def. Ayllon Prado/Popowich (MTSU), 8-5
Crivei/Saleh (MTSU) def. Grossman/Spurck (Xavier), 8-6
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with Middle Tennessee Men's Tennis on Instagram (mt_menstennis), X (MT_MensTennis), and Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis).
Birtan Duran, Eric Crivei and Aryan Saleh all began their runs in the regional today, with all three picking up first-day victories against their opponents.
In doubles, Antoine Mayoral and Clement Mayoral won their bout, while Crivei and Saleh continued to excel as a pair with their victory on the day.
Duran began his tournament against Purdue's Jacob Lee, who proved stingy at first. In set one, the two were tied at three all, before the Blue Raider pulled away to win, 6-3. In the second set, Lee jumped out to a 4-1 lead, with all signs pointing to a third set. Duran then stormed back, winning five unanswered games to win, 6-4, and take the match.
Just after Duran's match began, Crivei found himself in a tight battle against Louisville's Hamza El Amine. The junior defeated the Cardinal to begin the match, comfortably claiming the first set, 6-3.
The second set operated mostly in El Amine's favor, with Crivei staying within a game's reach for most of the bout. Once the set went to a deuce at 5-5, the Blue Raider edged out his opponent, winning two consecutive games to claim the set, 7-5.
For MTSU's final singles win of the day, Saleh was made to work for it, taking down Vanderbilt's Hugo Coquelin in a three-set battle, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3). In set one, Coquelin jumped out with the lead and never looked back. Saleh turned the tides in set two, jumping to a 4-1 lead before finishing with the victory.
The final set was nail-biting, with the advantage teetering between Saleh and Coquelin throughout. It began just as the first one did, with the Commodore jumping out to an early lead. Saleh refused to give up, storming back from 4-1 down to take a 5-4 advantage. The bout ended in a 6-6 draw, before the German senior decided the tiebreaker game, winning 7-3.
Clement was unable to defeat Tennessee's Orel Kimhi, falling in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
The two singles competitors that advanced through the qualifiers were also unable to progress any further, as both Ayllon Prado and Antoine fell in straight sets to their opponents.
Ayllon Prado was the victim of Indiana's Sam Landau's play, falling 6-0, 6-2, while Antoine was unable to overcome Kentucky's Mikael Arsenault, falling 6-3, 6-3.
In doubles, the Mayoral brothers got the better of Belmont's Cagan Efe Tufekci and Sean Clark, winning 8-5 to start the day strong.
Crivei and Saleh continued their fine form as a pair with their defeat of Xavier's Lukas Grossman and Andrew Spurck, taking the tight contest. 8-6.
The Blue Raiders only dropped one doubles contest, as John Popowich and Ayllon Prado fell, 8-5, to IU-Indianapolis' Cameron Kryscio and Ellison Minnaar.
Looking on towards Saturday's doubles round of 32, Middle Tennessee will begin at 10 a.m. with its first of two pairs, as the Mayoral brothers face off against ETSU's Oscar Martinez and Dmitry Kopilevich for a spot in the last 16.
Crivei and Saleh will hope their rackets stay hot when they match up with Indiana's Aryan Badlani and Ariel Zauber at 11 a.m.
Saturday's round of 32 singles matches will begin following the conclusion of doubles competition, with Duran, Crivei and Saleh all beginning play at 12:30 p.m.
Duran will meet Kentucky's Eli Stephenson, Crivei will match with Purdue's Lorenzo Balducci and Saleh will line up against Purdue's Juan David Velasquez.
In the singles consolation bracket, Antoine and Asier are yet to hear who their opponents will be.
Results
Singles
Birtan Duran (MTSU) def. Jacob Lee (Purdue), 6-3, 6-4
Sam Landau (Indiana) def. Asier Ayllon Prado (MTSU), 6-0, 6-2
Eric Crivei (MTSU) def. Hamza El Amine (Louisville), 6-3, 7-5
Aryan Saleh (MTSU) def. Hugo Coquelin (Vanderbilt), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Mikael Arsenault (Kentucky) def. Antoine Mayoral (MTSU), 6-3, 6-3
Orel Kimhi (Tennessee) def. Clement Mayoral (MTSU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
Mayoral/Mayoral (MTSU) def. Tufekci/Clark (Belmont), 8-5
Kryscio/Minnaar (IU-Indianapolis) def. Ayllon Prado/Popowich (MTSU), 8-5
Crivei/Saleh (MTSU) def. Grossman/Spurck (Xavier), 8-6
Follow the Blue Raiders
Stay up to date with Middle Tennessee Men's Tennis on Instagram (mt_menstennis), X (MT_MensTennis), and Facebook (BlueRaiderMensTennis).
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