No. 46 Middle Tennessee falls to No. 5 Duke

Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. - No. 46 Middle Tennessee fell to No. 5 Duke, 7-0, on Friday at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) 2013 Kick-off Weekend inside the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.  MT will now face Virginia Tech on Sunday in the consolation finals at 9 a.m. CT.

With every individual in Duke's lineup ranked nationally, MT had a formidable task ahead of them, and won just one set in the match.

Ben Davis, ranked 101st nationally, Henrique Cunha in the No. 1 singles, 6-2 and 6-3.  Cunha is ranked No. 11 by ITA.

Christoph Lang fell to 2-1 in singles after No. 23 Fred Saba defeated him, 6-3, 6-4 in the second singles match of the day.

Victor Cornea won his Blue Raider debut against Lipscomb last weekend but fell to Michael Redlicki (ranked 14th) 6-1, 6-1.

Perhaps the lone bright spot of the day was Yannick Born, who battled No. 43 Chris Mengel. Born lost 5-7 in the first set, but came back to win set No. 2, 7-6 (7-4 tie-breaker).  In the end, Born fell 1-0 in the final set on a 10-6 tie-breaker.

"Despite a tough loss, Yannick made some major strides today," head coach Jimmy Borendame said.  "He was right there with a top 50 player in the country, and I'm really proud of him."

Ettore Zito and David Fox each fell in the fifth and sixth flight singles, respectively.  Zito was defeated by No. 38 Raphael Hemmeler (6-0, 7-5) while Fox lost to No. 123 Jason Tahir (6-3, 6-4).

In doubles, MT's Cornea and Born faced No. 39 ranked Tahir and Redlicki, falling 8-5 while Davis and Fox lost to No. 37 Saba and Mengel, 8-3.  

Lang and Marlon Brand left their doubles match unfinished at 6-5 against Cunha and Hemmeler, the nation's top-ranked doubles tandem.

#5 Duke 7, #46 Middle Tennessee 0
Jan 25, 2013 at Durham, NC

Singles competition
1. #11 Henrique Cunha (DUKE) def. #101 Davis, Ben (MT) 6-2, 6-3
2. #23 Fred Saba (DUKE) def. Lang, Christoph (MT) 6-3, 6-4
3. #14 Michael Redlicki (DUKE) def. Cornea, Victor (MT) 6-1, 6-1
4. #43 Chris Mengel (DUKE) def. Born, Yannick (MT) 7-5, 6-7 (7-4), 1-0 (10-6)
5. #38 Raphael Hemmeler (DUKE) def. Zito, Ettore (MT) 6-0, 7-5
6. #123 Jason Tahir (DUKE) def. Fox, David (MT) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. #1 Henrique Cunha/Raphael Hemmeler (DUKE) vs. Lang, Christoph/Brand, Marlon (MT) 6-5, unfinished
2. #39 Jason Tahir/Michael Redlicki (DUKE) def. Cornea, Victor/Born, Yannick (MT) 8-5
3. #37 Fred Saba/Chris Mengel (DUKE) def. Davis, Ben/Fox, David (MT) 8-3

Match Notes
Middle Tennessee 2-1; National ranking #46
Duke 7-0; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,6,2,1,5)
ITA Kick-Off Weekend
T-3:20 A-111

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