Five Blue Raiders victorious at Virginia Tech tournament

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Five Blue Raiders earned singles victories as the Middle Tennessee men’s tennis competed on the opening day of the Larsen Bowker Invite hosted by Virginia Tech. Christoph Lang claimed his second-straight singles victory, while Ettore Zito, Matthew Langley, Cameron Dickerson and Marlon Brand each earned their first wins of the 2012 campaign.

“I was proud of the way the guys bounced back after some tough matches against Vanderbilt,” head coach Jimmy Borendame said. “We had some quality performances today, but we still need to work on our doubles play.”

Four of the five Blue Raiders won their matches in straight sets. Zito claimed his match, 6-1, 6-1, while Lang was also dominant in a 6-1, 6-4 performance. Dickerson played a close one but pulled off 7-5, 7-5 sets and Brand finished off his opponent, 6-3, 7-6.

Langley was the lone victorious Blue Raider who went to three sets, bouncing back from a 3-6 loss in the opening set to win 7-6, 6-3 in the final two.

The tournament continues Saturday as the Blue Raiders face the hosting Hokies at 3 p.m. CT.

RESULTS
Singles
Ettore Zito (MT) def. Chris Mark (Davidson) 6-1, 6-1
Christoph Lang (MT) def. Calum Gee (Davidson) 6-1, 6-4
Matthew Langley (MT) def. Joe Schafer (Davidson) 3-6, 7-6, 6-3
Nicky Kunz (Davidson) def. Dimitri Pippos (MT) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Cameron Dickerson (MT) def. Ethan Kallick (Davidson) 7-5, 7-5
Marlon Brand (MT) def. Robert Lightbourn (Davidson) 6-3, 7-6

Doubles
Joe Schafer/Calum Gee (Davidson) def. Ben Davis/Christoph Lang (MT) 8-6
Marlon Brand/Cameron Dickerson (MT) def. Chris Mark/Nicky Kunz (Davidson) 8-2
Ethan Kallick/Connor Evins (Davidson) def. Ettore Zito/Matthew Langley (MT) 9-8(4)
Robert Lightbourn/Roger Irigoyen (Davidson) def. Dimitri Pippos (MT)/Jon Pine (VT) 8-6

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