Blue Raiders knock off Austin Peay, to face No. 71 Georgia State

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -The Blue Raider men’s tennis team opened the Sun Belt Shootout with a 4-0 victory over Austin Peay on Saturday morning. MT delivered dominant performances across the board to advance to the semifinals of the tournament at the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center.

MT (9-6) opened the match with a sweep in doubles action. Matthew Langley and Ettore Zito dominated in the No. 3 spot, 8-0, then Christoph Lang and Ben Davis’ 8-4 victory clinched the point.

Langley made it a 2-0 lead with his straight-set win in the three-hole and two other Blue Raiders claimed straight-set victories. Forrest Edwards posted a 6-1, 6-4 win and Dimitri Pippos tallied a 6-3, 6-4 victory to clinch the match. The remaining matches were unfinished due to the tournament format.

The Blue Raiders will take on No. 71 Georgia State on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Georgia State defeated Troy, 4-1, Saturday morning to advance. Further updates will be available following this afternoon’s match on GoBlueRaiders.com. All matches are free and open to the public.

Middle Tennessee 4, Austin Peay 0
Singles competition
1. Ben Davis (MT) vs. BAILEY, Sean (APSU) 4-6, 2-3, unfinished
2. Christoph Lang (MT) vs. ADEMOVIC, Jasmin (APSU) 4-6, 6-1, 2-3, unfinished
3. Matthew Langley (MT) def. RISTOVSKI, Dimitar (APSU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Ettore Zito (MT) vs. TVERIJONAS, Aleksas (APSU) 6-4, 5-4, unfinished
5. Forrest Edwards (MT) def. STORIE, John (APSU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Dimitri Pippos (MT) def. HRICISTE, Michal (APSU) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Marlon Brand/Yannick Born (MT) vs. BAILEY, Sean/RISTOVSKI, Dimitar (APSU) 7-4, unfinished
2. Ben Davis/Christoph Lang (MT) def. ADEMOVIC, Jasmin/STORIE, John (APSU) 8-4>
3. Matthew Langley/ Ettore Zito (MT) def. SEFFRIN, Iago/HRICISTE, Michal (APSU) 8-0

Match Notes:
Austin Peay 7-6
Middle Tennessee 9-6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,5,6)

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