March 24, 2006
Auburn, Ala. - Auburn lost a tough match Friday to No. 1 Georgia under cold temperatures and strong winds. The Tigers fell 5-2 at the Luther Young Tennis Complex, putting them at 9-4, 2-3 SEC.
The undefeated (16-0) Bulldogs began the match winning the doubles point, and followed suit by taking four singles matches. However, the Tigers would not go quietly and made the Dogs earn every point.
"The guys competed hard today and showed what they are made of," said AU head coach Eric Shore. "It's a tough loss to take, but hopefully we'll play hard off of it Sunday."
Robbert Lathouwers and Lukas Marsoun hung in at the doubles two-spot, but were unable to defeat Georgia's Matic Omerzel and Luis Flores, falling 8-5. Alex Schweizer and Milan Krjnetin also gave their best efforts in the one-spot, but were unable to defeat No. 9 John Isner and Antonio Ruiz. Georgia clenched the doubles point with an 8-4 win in court one. Both teams decided to forgo finishing the third doubles match. However, Nick Lane and Pawel Dilaj led 6-3 when the match was stopped.
In singles action, Marsoun finished first for Auburn in the six-spot, defeating No. 103 Ricardo Gonzales 6-3, 6-1, and tying the match at one.
Georgia took the next two points defeating Dilaj in the five-spot and Schweizer in the one-spot. Schweizer forced Isner to defend his No. 1 title with every ounce of energy he had. The pair fought to a score of 6-4, 7-6.
Krjnetin earned the next point for the Tigers defeating Ruiz in the third set 6-2, and putting the score at 3-2, Georgia.
Auburn's hopes rested on Lathouwers, battling in the two-spot into a third-set tie-breaker. Although Lathouwers gave his best efforts, No. 27 Flores prevailed 7-6 (5) in the last set.
Finishing up the match was Lane in the three spot, fighting into a third set with Omerzel, but falling 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
"This is a tough match to lose," Shore said. "If we had won at that breaker with Robbert, who knows. Nick was up 3-2 and lost his steam after Robbert lost."
The Tigers will be back in SEC action on Sunday, March 26, at 1 p.m., to take on the No. 33 Tennessee Volunteers. The event will be held at the Luther Young Tennis Complex and admission is free. Live stats will be available at www.auburntigers.com
#51 Auburn 2 vs. # 1 Georgia 5
Doubles
1. Isner/Ruiz #9 (UGA) def. Krnjetin/Schweizer (AU) 8-4
2. Omerzel/Flores (UGA) def. Lathouwers/Marsoun (AU) 8-5
3. Gonzalez/Purcell (UGA) vs. Dilaj/Lane (AU) dnf
Order of finish: 2, 1
Singles
1. John Isner #1 def. (UGA) Alex Schweizer (AU) 6-4, 7-6
2. Luis Flores #27 (UGA) def. Robbert Lathouwers (AU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
3. Matic Omerzel #42 def. (UGA) Nick Lane (AU) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. Milan Krnjetin (AU) def. Antonio Ruiz (UGA) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Colin Purcell (UGA) def. Pawel Dilaj (AU) 7-6, 6-2
5. Lukas Marsoun (AU) def. Ricardo Gonzales #103 (UGA) 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 5, 1, 4, 2*, 3