Can Blue Lightning Stroke Again on the South-tennessee

Edit: Since Original Publication, the Bluish Raiders' Streak ended in Feb of 2022. Above are the final tallies of the historic Dwelling Streak.

Lightning Strikes 25 Times

March 11th, 2021

When Stijn Slump walked off court 2 at the Adams Tennis Complex (ATC) on February 17th, 2019, MTSU men's tennis had lost 3 of its concluding five matches on its dwelling court in Murfreesboro. His friction match was the deciding point that gave the South Alabama Jaguars the win that Sun afternoon.

Information technology was appropriate that a legendary streak would be headlined by the man who dropped that crucial match against South Alabama. Afterward that same Sunday, MTSU would sweep Alabama A&M 7-0 with Slump not dropping a game at the peak singles court. Since then, MTSU has not lost at the Adams Tennis Complex nearly 753 days afterward.

MTSU'southward tape stood at a less-than-optimal iv-5 in the 2019 spring flavour and the Blue Raiders had even more than tough matches on the horizon. St. John's and East Tennessee State University were scheduled to play at ATC in the coming weeks, and the Conference USA tournament would be held there also. Middle Tennessee State needed to find its basis apace.

The story goes that MTSU would defeat every team that gear up human foot in ATC including during the Conference U.s.a. Championship. While the total days since the Blue

Raiders final loss at domicile was partially inflated after COVID-19  wiped the 2nd half of the 2020 season's schedule,

the Bluish Raiders' 25 sequent wins trails only N Carolina'south 28 straight home wins for virtually by any Power 6 team.

In the 25th and nigh important win, Slump was the decisive victory for the Blue Raiders over local rivals Vanderbilt. This is the first win for the program over Vandy since 2006 after thirteen direct Commodore victories.

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There's a reason why a streak equally long every bit MTSU'southward is so rare in major college tennis in modern times: the struggles of dealing

with a world ravaged by a pandemic, the clothing and tear of scheduling tough competition year in and year out, or just the turnover from 1 team to some other yr after twelvemonth. The Blue Raiders accept faced all of these challenges during its 25-match win streak and so far, passed every test given to them with flying colors. Middle Tennessee State's match versus Louisville Friday will exist the fourth Power 6 conference team to confront the Blue Raiders at the Adams Lawn tennis Complex during the winning streak. MTSU has maintained its strength at the bottom of the lineup which has served as a calling carte du jour for the programme for many seasons dating back to Blue Raider greats such as Gian Issa .

The streak is a testament to head motorcoach Jimmy Borendame . Since his arrival in 2010, the men's tennis program has soared back to the heights of former great MT coaches such as Dale Short (1988-2007) and Dick LaLance (1977-1987). Borendame's 61% winning percentage ties him with Short for 2nd best all-time by any Blue Raider coach.

His coaching run has seen the Blue Raiders collect iii conference championships (two in the Sun Belt, one in Conference USA) and consistently rank equally i of the summit non-Ability 6 teams in the country annually. While some Blue Raider athletic teams are in rebuilding stages, the argument tin exist made that the men's tennis program is currently the premier Bluish Raider athletic team on campus. Not many schools can make that claim. Much of this success is to due to Borendame's hard work on and off the court including recruiting the all-time talent from around the world to join the Blue Raiders.

The almost staggering part of the men's tennis program and its winning streak at home is how the success of the team has drawn raucous crowds to the Adams Lawn tennis Complex no thing how big the opponent.

Students, faculty, and residents of Rutherford Canton can sometimes be heard making plans and socializing at Blue Raider lawn tennis matches similar those at football or basketball

games as seen on other college campuses. The Blue Raider team does their part to put on a show for the hundreds of fans that visit ATC every flavour. Tennis players are at present recognized and celebrated on campus as the star athletes they are instead of melting into the background. This culture has helped the mostly foreign Blue Raider squad to mesh together with the supportive Bluish Raider nation around the academy, providing a sense of family that many other programs in college tennis cannot.

Whether or not the streak ends this week is not important. The fact is, MTSU men'due south lawn tennis accomplished something very few programs, regardless of size or prestige, could in a world environment that has made information technology harder than always to stay consistent. Even if MTSU loses its next 25 habitation matches, there will all the same be supporters cheering for the Blue Raiders on the court at home or away because that's what this program means for the fans that have come to love these scrappy super underdogs. For at present, until the concluding point goes against them, MTSU'south streak continues.

Credits

brownhydre1943.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.middletennesseenews.net/lightning-strikes-25-times

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