March 3, 2006
Auburn, Ala. - The No. 40 Auburn men's tennis team (6-3, 0-1 SEC) lost a close match, 5-2, to No. 39 Kentucky (6-3, 1-0) Friday afternoon at the Luther Young Tennis Complex.
The Tigers put forth a good effort in doubles, but were unable to come away with the point. Pawel Dilaj and Milan Krnjetin improved their doubles record to 6-2 with an 8-6 victory over Kentucky's Bruno Agostinelli and Kenny Hodge and the No. 3 slot.
"It was a tough match. The doubles matches were important today. I felt like we let the doubles point get away from us, and that gave them the momentum going into singles," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said.
In singles, Pawel Dilaj and Nick Lane were victorious for the Tigers. Dilaj, playing No. 5, won his match over Kentucky's Greg Johnstone 6-0, 6-4, while Lane, in the third position, defeated UK's Nate Emge 6-1, 6-3. No. 83 Robbert Lathouwers was defeated for the first time this season in singles by No. 100 Alex Hume, 7-5, 7-6 (10-8).
Alex Schweizer, competing in his first match in over a month after undergoing knee surgery, faced Kentucky's No. 63 Bruno Agostinelli. After losing the first set 7-6 (2), Schweizer battled back for a 6-2 win in the second. However, he couldn't keep the momentum going through the final set, and Agostinelli prevailed by a count of 6-4.
"It's tough to ask Alex in his first match in over a month to be at his best. I think the outcome might have been different if he was at one hundred percent. It was a great effort on his part," Shore said.
Competing in doubles, No. 57 Robbert Lathouwers and Lukas Marsoun of Auburn were defeated by Kentucky's Greg Johnstone and Marcus Sundh, 8-5, in the No. 2 slot. At the No. 1 position, Auburn's Terence Nugent and Alex Schweizer were defeated by Alex Hume and Nate Emge of Kentucky, 8-4. In singles competition, Carey Rubin of Kentucky defeated Milan Krnjetin 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, at the No. 4 slot. At No. 6, Auburn's Lukas Marsoun was defeated by UK's Marcus Sundh 6-3, 6-4.
The Tigers return to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Luther Young Tennis Complex as they face No. 52 Vanderbilt.
Singles
No. 63 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. Alex Schweizer (AU) 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-4
No. 100 Alex Hume (UK) def. No. 83 Robbert Lathouwers (AU) 7-5, 7-6 (10-8)
Nick Lane (AU) def. Nate Emge (UK) 6-1, 6-3
Carey Rubin (UK) def. Milan Krnjetin (AU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
Pawel Dilaj (AU) def. Greg Johnstone (UK) 6-0, 6-4
Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Lukas Marsoun (AU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2
Doubles
Hume/Emge (UK) def. Terence Nugent/Schweizer (AU) 8-4
Johnstone/Sundh (UK) def. No. 57 Lathouwers/Marsoun (AU) 8-5
Dilaj/Krnjetin (AU) def. Agostinelli/Kenny Hodge (UK) 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3