Men's Tennis Defeats No. 40 Minnesota, 5-2

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee won all three doubles and four of the singles matches, with senior Rishan Kuruppu clinching the win at No. 5, as the 42nd-ranked Blue Raiders defeated No. 40 Minnesota, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at the Racquet Club of Murfreesboro.

The two teams played doubles Saturday night, with Middle Tennessee (5-2) taking all three matches.

Brandon Allan and Kai Schledorn won 8-6 at No. 2 over Mikey Kantar and Raoul Schwark before second-ranked Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom defeated Andres Osorio and Sion Wilkins at No. 1, 8-6, to clinch the point. Greg Pollack and Morgan Richard, a new combination for the Blue Raiders, defeated Adrien Debreyne and Pierre Dumas, 8-6, at No. 3.

The two teams played singles on Sunday after Minnesota played Sunday morning against Louisville.

Born gave the home team a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-2, triumph over Osorio at No. 2, but Nic Edlefesen won, 6-3, 6-1, over Allan at No. 3 to cut into Middle Tennessee's lead.

Schledorn prevailed 6-2, 6-4, over Schwark at No. 4, but 49th-ranked D.J. Geatz defeated 50th-ranked Siljestrom at No. 1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Kuruppu's 6-2, 6-0, victory over Debreyne at No. 5 was the match clincher. Pollack then won 8-2 over Wilkins at No. 6.

Head coach Dale Short was pleased with his team's efforts not only against Minnesota but also Rice on Saturday, giving the Blue Raiders confidence heading into next weekend's HEB Invitational in Corpus Christi, Texas.

"I thought we outcompeted them and were a little tougher as a team," Short said. "We knew if we could get off to a good start, then we'd have a chance to get on top of them. The win was important. It helps us feel better about ourselves and gives us some momentum going into the HEB."

The HEB Invitational brackets will be released later in the week, and the field includes Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas Tech, South Alabama, Middle Tennessee, BYU, Wichita State, UT-San Antonio, Nebraska, UNLV, Western Michigan, Louisville and Marquette.

#42 Middle Tennessee 5, #40 Minnesota 2
SINGLES
1. (49) D.J. Geatz (UM) def. (50) Andreas Siljestrom (MT), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2. Marco Born (MT) def. Andres Osorio (UM), 6-2, 6-2
3. Nic Edlefesen (UM) def. Brandon Allan (MT), 6-3, 6-1
4. Kai Schledorn (MT) def. Raoul Schwark (UM), 6-2, 6-4
5. Rishan Kuruppu (MT) def. Adrien Debreyne (UM), 6-2, 6-0
6. Greg Pollack (MT) def. Sion Wilkins (UM), 8-2
Order of Finish: 2,3,4,1,5*,6

DOUBLES
1. (2) Born-Siljestrom (MT) def. Osorio-Wilkins (UM), 8-5
2. Allan-Schledorn (MT) def. Mikey Kantar-Schwark (UM), 8-6
3. Pollack-Morgan Richard (MT) def. Debreyne-Pierre Dumas (UM), 8-6
Order of finish: 2,1*,3

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