Men's Tennis Falls, 4-3

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The 59th-ranked Middle Tennessee men's tennis team dropped the doubles point but climbed back into the match with three singles wins before dropping a three-setter at the top spot in the lineup, losing 4-3 to San Diego State in San Diego, Calif., Tuesday afternoon.

The Blue Raiders (5-10) won three of the first five singles matches completed to tie the match at three before 63rd-ranked Felix Hardt defeated Middle Tennessee's Andreas Siljestrom, 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-3, at No. 1, giving the homestanding Aztecs a 4-3 victory.

SDSU won the top two doubles matches to claim the first point of the match.

Hardt and Daniel Jung defeated 28th-ranked Brandon Allan and Kai Schledorn of Middle Tennessee, 9-8 (5), at No. 1, while Marcus Dickhardt and Dontia Haynes won 8-5 over Rishan Kuruppu and Siljestrom at No. 2. Middle Tennessee's Trevor Short and Kirk Jackson won in a tiebreaker at No. 3, 9-8 (4), defeating Armando Carrascosa and Mike Coehlo.

In singles, Jackson defeated Jung at No. 3, 6-2, 6-3, while Anant Sitaram came back to win, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, over Carrascosa, at No. 5, and Kuruppu won 6-3, 6-1, over Coehlo at No. 6.

Aztecs Dickhardt and Haynes won at Nos. 2 and 4, evening the match at three and leaving the No.1 players for both squads on the court to decide the match.

Siljestrom started slow but battled back to tie the match with a 10-8 tiebreaker victory in the second set. But Hardt was just too much, ending the more than three-and-a-half hour match 6-3 in the final set.

Middle Tennessee plays again Thursday against 31st-ranked University of San Diego at 3:30 p.m. CT.

SAN DIEGO STATE 4, #59 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3
SINGLES
1. (63) Felix Hardt (SDSU) def. Andreas Siljestrom (MT), 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-3
2. Marcus Dickhardt (SDSU) def. Kai Schledorn (MT), 6-1, 6-4
3. Kirk Jackson (MT) def. Daniel Jung (SDSU), 6-2, 6-3
4. Dontia Haynes (SDSU) def. Trevor Short (MT), 6-3, 6-4
5. Anant Sitaram (MT) def. Armando Carrascosa (SDSU), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
6. Rishan Kuruppu (MT) def. Mike Coehlo (SDSU), 6-3, 6-1

DOUBLES
1. Hardt-Jung (SDSU) def. (28) Brandon Allan-Schledorn (MT), 9-8 (5)
2. Dickhardt-Haynes (SDSU) def. Kuruppu-Siljestrom (MT), 8-5
3. Short-Jackson (MT) def. Carrascosa-Coehlo (SDSU), 9-8 (4)

Friend of the Blue Raiders? Like us on Facebook and become part of the True Blue army today.