Men's Tennis Wins, 4-2, Over TAMUCC

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Senior Greg Pollack won the deciding match in three sets in the 36th-ranked Blue Raiders, 4-2, victory over No. 73 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a match delayed by rain Thursday at the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Ala.

The two teams were scheduled to play at 9:30 a.m., but the match was delayed by rain and started at 12:30 p.m., with the clubs playing singles first.

Middle Tennessee (8-5) got production from the bottom of the lineup to post the victory, something lacking over the last few weeks. Players at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 all won, including Pollack's match-clincher.

Corpus Christi's Raul Morant-Rivas, ranked 43rd nationally, defeated 47th-ranked Andreas Siljestrom, 6-4, 6-7 (13), 6-2, at No. 1, and Mikhail Pavlov won 6-4, 7-5, at No. 3 over Kai Schledorn.

But the Blue Raiders got a win at No. 2 from Marco Born, 6-1, 7-5, over 125th-ranked Andrey Kumantsov.

Two of the final three victories for Middle Tennessee came in three sets.

Brandon Allan defeated Jose Zunino at No. 4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, and Morgan Richard won 6-4, 6-1, at No. 5 over Jan Cingel, setting up Pollack's decisive triumph.

The senior defeated Jose Ycaza at No. 6, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2, putting the Blue Raiders into the quarterfinals. Middle Tennessee will take on the winner between 32nd-ranked Boise State and No. 53 Brown at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

"It's great for us to get support from the bottom of the lineup. That's a real positive for our team," head coach Dale Short said. "Andreas is really the only one struggling, and that's with his serve. If we can get Andreas going and build on today's success, I think we have a chance to make the finals."

#36 Middle Tennessee 4, #73 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2
SINGLES
1. (43) Raul Morant-Rivas (TAMUCC) def. (47) Andreas Siljestrom (MT), 6-4, 6-7 (13), 6-2
2. Marco Born (MT) def. (125) Andrey Kumantsov (TAMUCC), 6-1, 7-5
3. Mikhail Pavlov (TAMUCC) def. Kai Schledorn (MT), 6-4, 7-5
4. Brandon Allan (MT) def. Jose Zunino (TAMUCC), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
5. Morgan Richard (MT) def. Jan Cingel (TAMUCC), 6-4, 6-1
6. Greg Pollack (MT) def. Jose Ycaza (TAMUCC), 6-0, 4-6, 6-2

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