Feb. 14, 2008
ATLANTA - The No. 39-ranked Auburn's men's tennis team moved to 3-1 on the season as it defeated No. 41 Georgia Tech, 5-2, Thursday in Atlanta at Bill Moore Tennis Center.
The Tigers broke the Yellow Jackets' five-match win streak, handing Georgia Tech (5-1) its first loss of the season. Georgia Tech fell to 5-1 while Auburn started its road season in the win column, 1-0.
"It was a good team win for us" head coach Eric Shore said. "We had good momentum coming out of doubles and I am really proud of how we fought back in singles to come out with the win."
The Tigers started the match on the right foot, sweeping all three doubles match-ups to earn the first point.
Pawel Dilaj and Alex Petropoulos defeated Guillermo Gomez and Eliot Potvin, 8-6, for the first doubles win. Following closely behind was Tim Puetz and Lukas Marsoun with the win over George Gvelesiani and David North, 8-6.
Alexey Tsyrenov and Terence Nugent then defeated Scott Blackmon and Ryan Smith, 8-6, to end doubles with the lead.
The Tigers did not hold on to the lead very long as Petropoulos was defeated by Potvin, 6-2, 6-4, to tie the match, 1-1. Georgia Tech would then take its only lead of the match as Marsoun lost to North, 6-3, 6-4.
It was all Auburn from there as the Tigers' next two points came thanks to wins by Puetz and Nugent, both players defeating their opponents in straight sets. Puetz beat Jose Muguruza, 6-4, 7-6, and Nugent overcame Smith, 7-6, 6-4 to give Auburn the lead again, 3-2.
Auburn clinched the match, 4-2, as Dilaj battled back to defeat Blackmon in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
In the last match-up, on court No. 1, Tsyrenov took on No. 82 Gomez. The match went to an extra point in all three sets, but Tsyrenov was able to find a way to come away with the win, 6-7, 7-5, 7-5.
The win marks the first career win for Tsyrenov against a ranked opponent.
The Tigers return home to face No. 23 Tulsa on Sunday, Feb. 17, at 12 p.m. CT at Auburn University/City of Auburn Yarbrough Tennis Center. The match will be played on the indoor courts at the complex.