7-Peat: Blue Raiders Extend CUSA Championship Run

Sunday, April 19

Murfreesboro, Tenn

11 a.m

Middle Tennessee

Liberty

4/19/2026 4:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Edly Termilien / MTSU Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee won the Conference USA Championship with a 4-2 victory over Liberty on Sunday at the Outdoor Tennis Complex.

The Blue Raiders leaned on dominant singles play to clinch the title after dropping the doubles point. Liberty secured the early advantage with wins on Courts 1 and 3 to take a 1-0 lead. Middle Tennessee answered with four consecutive singles victories to seal the match.

Jonasz Dziopak was the first to finish, winning against Carl Roothman 6-3, 6-1, to put the Blue Raiders on the board. Karim Al-Amin followed with a three-set win on Court 2, finishing 6-1, 1-6, 6-2. Birtan Duran added another point with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 victory on Court 3. Ondrej Horak clinched the championship with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Siwanat Auytayakul on Court 1, securing the Blue Raiders' fourth point.

Liberty picked up its second point on Court 6, where Chase Robinson defeated Santiago Lora in straight sets. The match on Court 5 went unfinished with Eric Crivei leading in the third set.

Head coach Jimmy Borendame earned his ninth Conference Championship across the Sun Belt and CUSA in his career, while Horak secured his fourth career conference CUSA title. Al-Amin achieved his third CUSA championship.

Head coach Jimmy Borendame on the season and the CUSA Championship:
I am very proud of this team! Having 8 of 10 new guys and coming together like this is impressive. Even more so, losing a tight doubles and then being resilient in singles makes this win even sweeter. All the credit goes to our great assistant coaches, staff, Olivia our trainer, Coach Blatnick and many more. Karim and Ondrej's leadership has been priceless, I will go to war with those two any day. I love this team.

BOX SCORE:

Doubles
No. 1: David Ekpenyong/Benjamin Sparks (LU) def. Eric Crivei/Jonasz Dziopak (MTSU) 7-6 (9-7)
No. 2: Ondrej Horak/Antoine Mayoral (MTSU) def. Rodrigo Santiago Arraez/Guy Vorwerk (LU) 6-4
No. 3: Siwanat Auytayakul/Chase Robinson (LU) def. Karim Al-Amin/Birtan Duran (MTSU) 7-5

Singles
No. 1: Ondrej Horak (MTSU) def. Siwanat Auytayakul (LU) 7-5, 6-3
No. 2: Karim Al-Amin (MTSU) def. Benjamin Sparks (LU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
No. 3: Birtan Duran (MTSU) def. Rodrigo Santiago Arraez (LU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-1
No. 4: Jonasz Dziopak (MTSU) def. Carl Roothman (LU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 5: Eric Crivei (MTSU) vs. David Ekpenyong (LU) 2-6, 6-2, 5-0, unfinished
No. 6: Chase Robinson (LU) def. Santiago Lora (MTSU) 7-5, 6-0

Match Notes:
2-seed Liberty (14-11); National ranking No. 64
1-seed MTSU (22-8); National ranking No. 48
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,6,3,2,1)

UP NEXT:
The Blue Raiders will wait to see who they play in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship until the selection show on Monday, April 27, at 5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.

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