Men's Tennis Falls to ETSU, 4-2

Senior Andreas Siljestrom won in both singles and doubles Sunday night against East Tennessee, but it was not enough in a 4-2 loss at the Racquet Club of Murfreesboro. (Bradley Lambert)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee dropped a tough doubles point before senior Marco Born was injured in his singles match, as the 31st-ranked Blue Raiders dropped a 4-2 decision to 66th-ranked East Tennessee late Sunday at the Racquet Club of Murfreesboro.

Middle Tennessee (1-1) lost the second of two matches on Sunday, starting with a difficult doubles point that was decided at No. 2, a match that went back and forth throughout.

Born and senior Andreas Siljestrom, ranked 16th nationally in doubles, defeated Felix Insaurralde and Lisandro Picardo, 8-6, at No. 1, with the teams swapping breaks early before Born-Siljestrom broke again in the final game for the victory.

At No. 3, ETSU's Sebastian Serrano and Enrique Olivares jumped out early with two breaks and led 6-1 over Morgan Richard and Marc Rocafort. The Middle Tennessee duo fought back to 7-5, but Serrano-Olivares served out the match for an 8-5 win.

That left everything to No. 2, where Blue Raiders Joao Paoliello and Marc Boiron fell behind a break early, trailing 4-1 to ETSU's Travis Sandlant and Alex Ahlgren. But Paoliello-Boiron won five straight games before losing a game, bringing the match back on serve at 6-5.

The two teams continued their battle until Sandlant-Ahlgren broke in the final game for a 9-7 victory, giving the visiting Buccaneers the first point of the match.

In singles Middle Tennessee had an opportunity to take control of the match, with two of the first three completed matches going in favor of the Blue Raiders.

Siljestrom, ranked 41st in singles, defeated Insaurralde, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 1, and Rocafort took care of Serrano, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 4. ETSU's Picardo evened the match at two with a 6-4, 6-3, victory over Boiron at No. 5.

Born was up a set and on serve in the second set before rolling his ankle and eventually falling to Predrag Burmazovic, 6-3, 5-7, 1-6. ETSU's Olivares defeated Richard at No. 3, 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, for the clinching point. Paoliello won the first set for the Blue Raiders, 7-6, over Sandlant at No. 6 before the match was stopped.

"The doubles was tough because we were very close to winning the point and just couldn't quite pull it out," head coach Dale Short said. "And then in singles I think we win the match if Marco doesn't get hurt, but that's just bad luck.

"You have to give credit to East Tennessee. They're a quality team. We really competed hard and if we continue to do that, we'll beat some good teams this season. Right now we have to get healthy and shore up our doubles as well."

Middle Tennessee faces 33rd-ranked Kentucky Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Racquet Club and also takes on Chattanooga Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

#66 East Tennessee 4, #31 Middle Tennessee 2
SINGLES
1. (41) Andreas Siljestrom (MT) def. Felix Insaurralde (ETSU), 6-3, 6-1
2. Predrag Burmazovic (ETSU) def. Marco Born (MT), 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
3. Enrique Olivares (ETSU) def. Morgan Richard (MT), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
4. Marc Rocafort (MT) def. Sebastian Serrano (ETSU), 6-3, 6-0
5. Lisandro Picardo (ETSU) def. Marc Boiron (MT), 6-4, 6-3
6. Joao Paoliello (MT) led Travis Sandlant (ETSU), 7-6, stopped

DOUBLES
1. (16) Born-Siljestrom (MT) def. Insaurralde-Picardo (ETSU), 8-6
2. Sandlant-Alex Ahlgren (ETSU) def. Boiron-Paoliello (MT), 9-7
3. Serrano-Olivares (ETSU) def. Richard-Rocafort (MT), 8-5