Blue Raiders Fall to No. 5 Ole Miss

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's 45th-ranked men's tennis team won the doubles point but dropped a trio of three-set singles matches in falling to fifth-ranked Ole Miss Saturday at the Salloum Tennis Center in Oxford, Miss.

The Blue Raiders (8-2) had their six-game winning streak snapped, while the Rebels improved to 7-1.

Middle Tennessee swept both completed doubles match in doubles, with 41st-ranked Brandon Allan and Kai Schledorn defeating Catalin Gard and Eric Claesson, 8-2, at No. 1, and 30th-ranked Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom won 8-3 over Erling Tveit and Fredrik Aarum.

In singles the Rebels won the first three completed singles matches in straight sets, with Allan losing at No. 6 to Juan Pablo Di Cesare, 2-6, 3-6, before fourth-ranked Gard won 6-4, 7-5, over 86th-ranked Siljestrom at No. 1. Schledorn lost 3-6, 4-6, to Tveit at No. 3, giving UM a 3-1 lead.

The other three matches all went to three sets, with the Blue Raiders looking the part to pull the upset. But Ole Miss won all three for the final three points of the match.

Claesson defeated Born, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, at No. 2, before 52nd-ranked Jakob Klaeson won 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, over Anant Sitaram at No. 5. Bram ten Berge picked up the final point with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, win over Greg Pollack at No. 4.

Middle Tennessee takes on 31st-ranked Mississippi State Sunday at 1 p.m. in Starkville, Miss., weather permitting. Live stats will be offered at GoBlueRaiders.com.

SINGLES
1. (4) Catalin Gard (UM) def. (86) Andreas Siljestrom (MT), 6-4, 7-5
2. Eric Claesson (UM) def. Marco Born (MT), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
3. Erling Tveit (UM) def. Kai Schledorn (MT), 6-3, 6-4
4. Bram ten Berge (UM) def. Greg Pollack (MT), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
5. (52) Jakob Klaeson (UM) def. Arant Sitaram (MT), 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
6. Juan Pablo Di Cesare (UM) def. Brandon Allan (MT), 6-2, 6-3

DOUBLES
1. (41) Allan-Schledorn (MT) def. Gard-Claesson (UM), 8-2
2. (30) Born-Siljestrom (MT) def. Tveit-Aarum (UM), 8-3
3. Sitaram-Pollack (MT) vs. Klaeson-ten Berge (UM), DNF

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