By: Zachary Lohn
MTN Sports Reporter
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raider’s Men Tennis team has quietly become one of the best teams in the country. In last week’s rankings, the Blue Raiders were ranked at number 15 in the country which is the highest ranking in Coach Jimmy Borendame’s tenure.
Freshman Oskar Brostrom Poulsen said, “this is not a one season thing because we are looking to do it in the future.” Poulsen said that if they want to be in the conversation of well-established collegiate teams then this should be the expectations every year for the team.
Coach Borendame said that this is one of the goals of the team, “we acknowledged it… something that I have noticed is that teams are more excited to play us.” Borendame said that this is not the end goal and called the rankings “recruiting fluff.”
Both Borendame and Poulsen talked about how it gets everyone on the team motivated when they know that they are getting the other team’s best.
Poulsen said that when teams come to beat them, “it makes us stronger.” He said that it allows the team to rely on each other more and helps the trust throughout the rest of the team because they have to rely on each other more.
The Blue Raiders still play 7 opponents that are in the top 100 in the country and it has built one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Borendame said, “my goal is to build the toughest schedule for the guys.” He went on to say that the end result is to be nationally seeded in the NCAA tournament which means they are one of the best 32 teams.
The second half of the schedule is tough for MTSU, but if they keep playing like they are now, then they have a good shot at being nationally seeded in a few weeks.