By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – No. 23 Middle Tennessee proved to be too much for the Tennessee Tech tennis team in its Sunday afternoon matchup, as the Golden Eagles were tripped up with a 7-0 loss in the club's lone clash of the week.
Playing with three nationally-ranked players, the Blue Raiders (17-3) flexed their muscles with victories in all six spots in the singles lineup. The nationally-ranked trio of Stijn Slum (No. 115), Francisco Rocha (No. 69) and Chris Edge (No. 101) all secured nods at the top of the order. Slump checked the win column after Evzen Holis retired following a first-set defeat in the top position, while Rocha collected a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Mika Berghaus in the No. 2 meeting and Edge picked up a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over Elias Grubert in the No. 3 get-together.
Andre Rodeia fell 2-6, 6-3, 10-3 to Stepan Holis in the No. 4 battle for Tech's lone three-set defeat. Carlos Vicente, who had appeared in only two singles matches this spring, came back into the solo lineup and dropped a 6-4, 6-2 showdown to Oskar Poulsen in the No. 5 position. Pavel Motl rounded out MT's singles attack with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Jun Sasagawa in the No. 6 affair.
Tech (1-8) started the match by falling in all three doubles tilts, as Poulsen and Rocha picked up a 6-2 nod over Holis and Rodeia in the top battle, while Slump and Motl earned a 7-6 (7-5) triumph against Grubert and Berghaus in the No. 2 slot and Edge and Holis took down Sasagawa and Vicente with a 7-5 decision in the No. 3 spot.
The Golden Eagles will now set their sights on a Friday, Mar. 25 doubleheader at Florida State. The first match in Tallahassee is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. CT and the second meeting is on the books for a 1 p.m. first serve.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
