MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The 37th-ranked Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders fell 7-0 Sunday afternoon to Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., in a hardfought match in which the Blue Raiders lost a trio of three-set matches.
The Hoosiers got things started by sweeping all three doubles spots. At No. 1, Zach Held and Ryan Recht won 8-3 over MT's Kirk Jackson and Greg Pollack. Jackson is currently part of the No. 10 doubles team in the nation along with teammate Daniel Klemetz.
Viktor Libal and Petr Novotny won at No. 2 doubles, downing Trevor Short and Brandon Allan, 8-6. John Stone and Jakub Praibis made it a clean sweep with an 8-4 win over the Blue Raider duo of Anant Sitaram and Rishan Kuruppu.
Novotny made short work of MT's Michael Staniak, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 3 singles. Libal wasn't far behind his doubles teammate as he downed Pollack , 6-1, 7-6 (1).
Jullien Vulliez came from behind in a hard fought three set match to clinch the Hoosier victory. After losing the first set 6-2, Vulliez rebounded to win the next two, 6-3, 6-3, over Sitaram at No. 6.
Recht followed Vulliez in as he claimed a 6-3, 7-5 win over MT's Kuruppu. With the match's outcome a forgone conclusion, Indiana's No. 1 singles player, Praibis, and No. 4 player, Held, both rebounded from first set losses to claim their matches. Praibis bounced No. 92 ranked Kirk Jackson, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Held downed Brandon Allan. With the match even after matching 7-6 (6) sets, one going each way, Held claimed a 14-12 win in the super tie-breaker.
"Indiana is a very good team and should be ranked very high," Blue Raider head coach Dale Short said. "They beat Notre Dame before us and they will beat a lot of teams this year.
"We are struggling right now without Dan and everyone is having to play a little higher in the lineup. We played hard today and could have won three of the matches and just couldn't pull them out."
The Blue Raiders open their home season Friday against Charleston Southern at the Racquet Club and hope to have the services of senior Daniel Klemetz for that match.
Indiana 7, No. 37 Middle Tennessee 0
Singles
1. Jakub Praibis (IU) def. No. 92 Kirk Jackson (MT), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Viktor Libal (IU) def. Greg Pollack (MT), 6-1, 7-6 (1)
3. Petr Novotny (IU) def. Michael Staniak (MT), 6-1, 6-0
4. Zach Held (IU) def. Brandon Allan (MT), 6-7 (6), 7-6 (6), 14-12
5. Ryan Recht (IU) def. Rishan Kuruppu (MT), 6-3, 7-5
6. Julien Vulliez (IU) def. Trevor Short (MT), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1. Zach Held-Ryan Recht (IU) def. Kirk Jackson-Greg Pollack (MT), 8-3
2. Viktor Libal-Petr Novotny (IU) def. Trevor Short-Brandon Allan (MT), 8-6
3. John Stone-Jakub Praibis (IU) def. Anant Sitaram-Rishan Kuruppu (MT), 8-4
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