MURFREESBORO, TENN. ­ The 75th-ranked Furman men's tennis team (3-1) earned an emotional win away from home on Friday when the Paladins upset 51st-ranked Middle Tennessee State (1-4) 4-3 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The visiting Paladins started the match strong by winning all three doubles matches. Furman's first victory came at No. 3, where Chris Henderson and Allen Simmons defeated Brandon Allan and Greg Pollack, 8-2. Andrew Rogers and Dasef Weems then, behind the strength of a break of serve at 4-3, clinched the doubles point with an 8-6 win over Michael Staniak and Rishan Kuruppu at No. 2. Furman also had a momentous win at No. 1, where James Cameron and Patrick Fillnow knocked off Middle Tennessee State's 10th-ranked duo of Daniel Klemetz and Kirk Jackson, 8-6.

The Blue Raiders came back quickly in singles when Klemetz, who is currently ranked third in the country, defeated Fillnow 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 2 position. After Furman's Henderson finished off Pollack 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3, Middle Tennessee State rebounded at No. 4 with a 6-4, 6-4 Staniak victory against Rogers.

Perhaps the most competitive match of the day came at No. 1, where Jackson and Cameron split the opening two sets. Then, with Jackson up a break at 4-1 in the third set, Cameron mounted a comeback by winning the match's final five games to take a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win, thus giving the Paladins a 3-2 lead.

The Blue Raiders knotted the match at 3-3 when Anant Sitaram defeated Simmons 6-2, 7-5 at No. 5, but the Paladins answered when Ryan McCarthy grabbed the clinching victory with a 6-3, 7-5 win against Allan at the No. 6 position.

Furman will look to carry the momentum from the Middle Tennessee State match into tomorrow's showdown against 28th-ranked Vanderbilt at 12:00 p.m. EST in Nashville.

No. 75 Furman 4, No. 51 Middle Tennessee State 3
February 14, 2003
Singles Results
1. James Cameron (FU) def. No. 92 Kirk Jackson (MT), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. No. 3 Daniel Klemetz (MT) def. Patrick Fillnow (FU), 6-2, 6-0
3. Chris Henderson (FU) def. Greg Pollack (MT), 6-3, 6-2
4. Michael Staniak (MT) def. Andrew Rogers (FU), 6-4, 6-4
5. Anant Sitaram (MT) def. Allen Simmons (FU), 6-2, 7-5
6. Ryan McCarthy (FU) def. Brandon Allan (MT), 6-3, 7-5
Doubles Results
1. Cameron-Fillnow (FU) def. No. 10 Klemetz-Jackson (MT), 8-6
2. Rogers-Dasef Weems (FU) def. Staniak-Rishan Kuruppu (MT), 8-6
3. Henderson-Simmons (FU) def. Allan-Pollack (MT), 8-2