Back-to-Back Conference USA Champions Return to the Courts – GoBlueRaiders.com

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Reigning back-to-back Conference USA Champion Middle Tennessee men’s tennis begins the process of defending their titles Monday, Jan. 17 with a double-header against C-USA foe Southern Miss and Tennessee State to kick off the 2022 regular season.

 

The Blue Raiders will serve up competition at the Adams Tennis Complex against the Golden Eagles at 1 p.m. and the Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. For fans wanting to see the Blue Raiders in action, admission is free inside the ATC for the duration of the season. Fans unable to attend the event can follow the match on CUSA.tv and our live stats site.

 

Middle Tennessee men’s tennis is currently on its’ longest home win streak in school history. The Blue Raiders have won 29 straight home matches since Feb. 17, 2019. In concurrence, MT are defending back-to-back C-USA Champions, winning the last two tournaments (2019 & 2021), no tournament was held in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

 

Head Coach Jimmy Borendame enters his 12th season at the helm of the Blue Raiders, in those 12 seasons he has compiled a record of 174-110 (.613). Borendame has made four NCAA Tournament appearances, named 2x C-USA Coach of the Year, produced 15 C-USA Players of the Week, and led four teams to finish the season ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Top 50.

MT enters the 2022 regular season with three players ranked in the ITA Pre-season Top 125 and one doubles-pairing in the Top 60. No. 30 Stijn Slump, No. 82 Francisco Rocha, and No. 106 Stepan Holis look to carry over a successful fall slate into the spring season. On the doubles court, No. 44 Slump and Pavel Motl earned a Top 60 ranking after going 9-10 on the Blue Raiders top court last season.

 

Middle Tennessee men’s tennis returns four members from last year’s Conference Champions squad. Graduate Student Chris Edge enters his fifth season with the Blue Raiders and has a 163-70 record in dual matches. Seniors Motl, Rocha, and Slump return for another shot at a team title.

 

The Blue Raiders welcome five newcomers to the roster for the 2022 season. Graduate Student Holis transferred to MT after a successful career with New Mexico, where he earned a 81-49 dual match record over three seasons and led the team in wins twice.

 

Four true freshmen made their way to Murfreesboro over the summer:

 

Mattia Bernardi – Trento, Italy

Oskar Brostrom Poulsen – Helsingor, Denmark

John Chin – Mandeville, Jamaica

Lucas Olivier – Marseille, France

 

Promotions

– Fans attending the match will receive free donuts and chocolate milk brought to you by Donut Country and Purity Dairy. 

 

Match One: Middle Tennessee (0-0, 0-0 C-USA) vs. Southern Miss (0-0, 0-0 C-USA)

– Monday, Jan. 17 – 1 p.m.

– Adams Tennis Complex

– Murfreesboro, Tenn.

 

Match Two: Middle Tennessee (0-0, 0-0 C-USA) vs. Tennessee State (0-0, 0-0 OVC)

– Monday, Jan. 17 – 4:30 p.m.

– Adams Tennis Complex

– Murfreesboro, Tenn.

 

All-time vs. Southern Miss

– Monday’s matchup will be the seventh meeting between MT and USM, the Blue Raiders lead the head-to-head 5-1

– The Blue Raiders are 3-0 when playing the Golden Eagles at home

– Coach Borendame is 3-0 against USM

 

All-time vs. Tennessee State

– Middle Tennessee owns a perfect 25-0 record over Tennessee State dating back to 1980

– The Blue Raiders are 15-0 over the Tigers when playing on our home courts

– Coach Borendame holds a 8-0 record against Tennessee State

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