Men’s Tennis Falls in Final Match of C-USA Pod

Sunday, April 7

Charlotte, N.C.

10:00 AM

Florida Atlantic

Middle Tennessee

2019 FAU Men's Tennis @ Miami Mehdi Laalej 2019

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

4/7/2019 11:59:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Florida Atlantic University men's tennis team finished the weekend's Conference USA pod in Charlotte with a 2-1 record after falling Sunday to Middle Tennessee.

Notables:

Middle Tennessee (15-10, 4-1 C-USA) edged out the doubles point. The top slot was a 7-6 Blue Raider decision as Court No. 2, featuring Mehdi Laalej and Gabriel Sidney, was tied 6-6
Down 2-0, Laalej halved the deficit for FAU (17-9, 3-1 C-USA) at No. 3 singles, winning his match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3
That win means the grad student finishes the regular season with a record of 19-2 in singles in the dual match season
MT closed it out at No. 5 and No. 4 the latter in three sets

Quotable

Head Coach Ricardo Gonzalez:
"Today wasn't a good day in the office. We were flat and didn't perform at our best. We need to learn from today. Credit to Middle Tennessee for taking it to us."

Full Results:
Middle Tennessee 4, FAU 1
Doubles
1. #67 Chris Edge/Tom Moonen (MT) def. #81 Jason Legall/Ignacio Garcia (FAU) 7-6
2. Francisco Rocha/Max Rauch (MT) vs. Mehdi Laalej/Gabriel Sidney (FAU) 6-6, unfinished
3. Pavel Motl/Gonzalo Morell (MT) def. Kirac Bekisoglu/Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) 6-0

Singles
1. Gonzalo Morell (MT) def. Jason Legall (FAU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Stijn Slump (MT) vs. Kirac Bekisoglu (FAU) 6-4, 6-6, unfinished
3. Mehdi Laalej (FAU) def. Tom Moonen (MT) 6-4, 6-3
4. Max Rauch (MT) def. Gabriel Sidney (FAU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
5. Chris Edge (MT) def. Ignacio Garcia (FAU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
6. Pavel Motl (MT) vs. Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) 2-6, 6-1, 4-5, unfinished

What's Next

The 2019 regular season is in the books for the Owls. Preparation now begins for the Conference USA Championship, hosted by Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, April 19-21.