Blue Raiders Fall at Alabama, 4-3

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The 59th-ranked Middle Tennessee men's tennis team got off to a good start but could not sustain the momentum, eventually falling, 4-3, to 28th-ranked Alabama Wednesday afternoon at the Hank Crisp Indoor Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Middle Tennessee got off to a fast start, winning the doubles point with victories at Nos. 2 and 3.

Alabama's Stephen Mitchell and Chris Gostek defeated Trevor Short and Kirk Jackson, 8-2, at No. 1, but the Blue Raiders came back to win the final two matches.

Rishan Kuruppu and Andreas Siljestrom won 8-4 at No. 3 over Tom McVey and Eric Molnar before Brandon Allan and Kai Schledorn gave the Blue Raiders the doubles point with an 8-4 triumph over Joseph Jung and Christian Broderson at No. 2

Gostek quickly tied the match at one with a 6-2, 6-2, victory over Short at No. 2. Siljestrom put the Blue Raiders back ahead with a 7-6, 6-3, victory over Mitchell at No. 1.

Alabama evened the match at two with a win at No. 4, as Molnar defeated Schledorn, 6-4, 6-4. The Crimson Tide then took the lead with a victory at No. 3, as Jung and Jackson split sets before Jung won, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

But the Blue Raiders would not go away, as Anant Sitaram evened the match at three with a 6-3, 6-3, win at No. 6 over Mike Green. But Middle Tennessee's Rishan Kuruppu could not overcome a fast start by Alabama's Broderson at No. 5, falling 6-3, 6-2, in the deciding match.

The Blue Raiders are off for the next 12 days before taking on Indiana State at the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center on the Middle Tennessee campus on March 8 at 2:30 p.m.

#28 ALABAMA 4, #59 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3
SINGLES
1. Andreas Siljestrom (MT) def. Stephen Mitchell (UA), 7-6, 6-3
2. Chris Gostek (UA) def. Trevor Short (MT), 6-2, 6-2
3. Joseph Jung (UA) def. Kirk Jackson (MT), 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
4. Eric Molnar (UA) def. Kai Schledorn (MT), 6-4, 6-4
5. Christian Broderson (UA) def. Rishan Kuruppu (MT), 6-3, 6-2
6. Anant Sitaram (MT) def. Mike Green (UA), 6-3, 6-3

DOUBLES
1. Mitchell-Gostek (UA) def. Jackson-Short (MT), 8-2
2. Brandon Allan-Schledorn (MT) def. Jung-Broderson (UA), 8-4
3. Kuruppu-Siljestrom (MT) def. Tom McVey-Molnar (UA), 8-4

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