CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In the finals of the 2021 Conference USA Championships, the Old Dominion men's tennis team fell to No. 44 Middle Tennessee by a 4-1 score on Sunday afternoon at Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex. Sunday marked the fourth appearance in the league's last five title matches for the Monarchs.
"These are the toughest moments in our profession, but I'm nothing short of proud of this team," said ODU head coach Dominik Mueller. "The resiliency we showed this season to get to this point is unprecedented in my tenure here at ODU. We started the season 0-5 and didn't have one week all semester with all of our players healthy in practice. We kept pushing, continued fighting, and most importantly our guys always believed in us coaches. We deserved this title, but Middle Tennessee was a little better than us today."
Middle Tennessee jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point. The Blue Raiders expanded their lead to 3-0 with wins in number two and four singles.
ODU's Pearse Dolan got Old Dominion on the board, making it a 3-1 match, with a 7-6, 6-3 straight set victory over Max Rauch on court six. Middle Tennessee then clinched its second consecutive league title with a win in No. 3 singles.
The Monarchs were the only team to score a point on the Blue Raiders the entire tournament. The win was the fourth straight for No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee (17-7).
The Monarchs (12-10) ended the year claiming victory in eight of their last 11 matches. In their last 11 matches, the Monarchs outscored their opponents 40-21.
"Thanks to Jannik, Tomislav, and Pearse for giving us everything they had," concluded Mueller. "They all made an impact on our program and they will be missed. I know they will be heroes in life after ODU. I'm so excited to follow their paths."
Tennis Match Results
Old Dominion vs Middle Tennessee
4-25-2021 at Charlotte, N.C.
(Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex)
#44 Middle Tennessee 4, Old Dominion 1
Singles competition
1. #49 Francisco Rocha (MTSU) vs. Luca Maldoner (ODU) 3-6, 6-3, 4-3, unfinished
2. Stijn Slump (MTSU) def. Tomislav Podvinski (ODU) 7-5, 7-5
3. Tom Moonen (MTSU) def. Nicola Vidal (ODU) 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
4. Chris Edge (MTSU) def. Francois Le Tallec (ODU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Pavel Motl (MTSU) vs. Younes Lalami (ODU) 4-6, 6-2, 3-4, unfinished
6. Pearse Dolan (ODU) def. Max Rauch (MTSU) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #88 Pavel Motl/Stijn Slump (MTSU) def. #60 Luca Maldoner/Nicola Vidal (ODU) 6-0
2. Tom Moonen/Chris Edge (MTSU) def. Younes Lalami/Francois Le Tallec (ODU) 6-2
3. Francisco Rocha/Max Rauch (MTSU) vs. Tomislav Podvinski/Pearse Dolan (ODU) 4-3, unfinished
Match Notes:
Old Dominion 12-10
Middle Tennessee 17-7; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,2,6,3)
Conference USA Championship Final
ODU’s Run Ends in C-USA Finals After 4-1 Loss to No. 44 Middle Tennessee
