Men's Tennis Posts 6-1 Victory

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's 43rd-ranked men's tennis team swept the doubles and won the first four completed singles matches, defeating Florida Atlantic, 6-1, late Saturday at the Racquet Club of Murfreesboro.

The Blue Raiders have won four straight overall and came away with a 5-1 mark while playing six matches in the last seven days.

Head coach Dale Short changed his doubles lineup, putting the twin towers back together.

Seniors Andreas Siljestrom and Marco Born, ranked 16th nationally, defeated Corey Smith and Karol Szmurlo at No. 1, 8-1, and Morgan Richard and Marc Rocafort won 8-3 over Lawrence Harradine and Olivier Sajous at No. 2. Joao Paoliello and Marc Boiron defeated Eddie Majcher and Daniel Vardag, 8-3, at No. 3 as well, giving the Blue Raiders a sweep of the doubles matches.

In singles Middle Tennessee won the first four completed matches, all in straight sets.

Siljestrom, ranked 41st in singles in the nation, defeated Sajous, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 1 while Born won 6-3, 6-2, over Szmurlo at No. 2. Rocafort picked up a 6-4, 6-0, victory against Smith at No. 3, and Richard defeated Vardag, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 4.

The Owls picked up their only point at No. 5, where Majcher won 8-5 over Boiron. Blue Raider freshman Alex McCann finished off the victory with an 8-6 triumph over J.P. Bounassar at No. 6.

"I'm very proud of our team. Florida Atlantic was up 3-1 on Vanderbilt on Friday and should have won that match, so it took a really good effort and we got that from everyone," Short said. "It's been a tough week with six matches in seven days and we continued to get better with each match."

Middle Tennessee heads to Seattle, Wash., for three matches next weekend, facing Waashington on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, then Texas Tech on Saturday at Noon and finally Louisville on Sunday at Noon.

#43 Middle Tennessee 6, Florida Atlantic 1
SINGLES
1. (41) Andreas Siljestrom (MT) def. Olivier Sajous (FAU), 6-2, 6-3
2. Marco Born (MT) def. Karol Szmurlo (FAU), 6-3, 6-2
3. Marc Rocafort (MT) def. Corey Smith (FAU), 6-4, 6-0
4. Morgan Richard (MT) def. Daniel Vardag (FAU), 6-1, 6-4
5. Eddie Majcher (FAU) def. Marc Boiron (MT), 8-5
6. Alex McCann (MT) def. J.P. Bounassar (FAU), 8-6
Order of Finish: 2,3,1*,4,5,6

DOUBLES
1. (16) Born-Siljestrom (MT) def. Smith-Szmurlo (FAU), 8-1
2. Richard-Rocafort (MT) def. Lawrence Harradine-Sajous (FAU), 8-3
3. Joao Paoliello-Boiron (MT) def. Majcher-Vardag (FAU), 8-3
Order of Finish: 1,2*,3

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.