No. 56 men's tennis knocks off No. 59 UAB for seventh win in a row

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The No. 56 men’s tennis team cruised to a 5-0 victory over 59th-ranked UAB on Tuesday afternoon at the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center. It marks the seventh consecutive victory for the Blue Raiders, equaling the longest regular-season streak since the 2006 campaign.

“Matthew Langley has put together an impressive career during his time at Middle Tennessee, and today he showed why,” head coach Jimmy Borendame said. “He has become one of our most consistent players, much like his doubles partner, Ettore Zito. Both have been very dependable in singles, which is one of the reasons our team has won seven matches in a row.”

Senior Matthew Langley ended the home portion of his career with wins in singles and doubles. He teamed with Ettore Zito in the No. 3 position to secure the doubles point for MT (15-6) with an 8-3 victory, then the Australia native claimed the final point of the day with a 6-3, 6-3 win in the No. 2 singles slot. He has reeled off six straight triumphs in singles action.

Zito’s 6-1, 7-5 triumph gave the Blue Raiders a 3-0 lead, while Christoph Lang’s 6-4, 6-2 performance proved to be the clincher. Zito has also won six singles matches in a row.

Forrest Edwards was the first to get on the board in singles play with a 6-2, 6-3 win. Edwards scored three unanswered points to clinch the second set and give MT a 2-0 lead. All six Blue Raiders won their opening set before Ben Davis’ and Dimitri Pippos’ matches were halted after the clinching point.

MT takes its streak to Florida this weekend for a pair of matches to close out the regular season. The Blue Raiders will face No. 72 South Florida on Friday at 1 p.m. CT then conclude the season against UCF on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT.

#56 Middle Tennessee 5, #59 UAB 0
Singles competition
1. Ben Davis (MT) vs. Danny Manlow (UAB) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
2. Matthew Langley (MT) def. David Zimmerman (UAB) 6-3, 6-3
3. Christoph Lang (MT) def. Chris Helliar (UAB) 6-4, 6-2
4. Ettore Zito (MT) def. Daniel Moser (UAB) 6-1, 7-5
5. Forrest Edwards (MT) def. Lucas Dirube (UAB) 6-2, 6-3
6. Dimitri Pippos (MT) vs. Tom Puetz (UAB) 6-2, 1-6, 3-0, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Ben Davis/Christoph Lang (MT) def. David Zimmerman/Tom Puetz (UAB) 8-1
2. Daniel Moser/Danny Manlow (UAB) def. Marlon Brand/Yannick Born (MT) 9-8 (9-7)
3. Ettore Zito/Matthew Langley (MT) def. Chris Helliar/Lucas Dirube (UAB) 8-3

Match Notes
UAB 16-5; National ranking #59
Middle Tennessee 15-6; National ranking #56
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,4,3,2)

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