Feb. 17, 2008
AUBURN - The No. 39 Auburn men's tennis team (3-2) won all three match-ups against ranked Tulsa players Sunday, but was not able to find a fourth point to clinch the victory as the Golden Hurricane left with a 4-3 win.
"We did extremely well in doubles, and we had a good start in singles to put them in hole early," head coach Eric Shore said. "We had to find one more point somewhere, but we just could not do it."
Auburn continues to be perfect in doubles, taking the doubles point for the fifth straight time this season. The Tigers won two of three match-ups with both coming against ranked duos.
Alexey Tsyrenov and Terence Nugent defeated No. 5 Ross Cunningham and Andy Connelly, 8-5, for the first win in No. 1 doubles. Tim Puetz and Lukas Marsoun quickly followed, taking down the previously-undefeated duo of No.15 Arnau Brugues and Ricardo Soriano, 8-6, giving them their fist loss in 10 doubles matches this season.
No. 23-ranked Tulsa (8-2) won its only doubles match thanks to a win by Viktor Kolik and Alberto Sottocorno over Pawel Dilaj and Alex Petropoulos, 8-3.
Auburn maintained the momentum going into singles play. Following up the doubles victory, Puetz was the first one off the court for the fourth time this season with a win over No. 44 Ricardo Soriano, 6-4, 6-1, giving him his first career singles win over a ranked opponent.
Milan Krnjetin fell to Ross Cunningham, 6-3, 6-2, for Tulsa the first point of the day.
Auburn fought back and found itself only needing one more point to clinch the victory over the Golden Hurricane after Tsyrenov defeated Arnau Brugues, 7-5, 6-3.
A win by Viktor Kolik over Lukas Marsoun 7-6 (10-8), 6-2, closed the gap to 3-2.
Two simultaneous Tulsa victories on courts four and five clinched the last minute win for Tulsa, 4-3.
Alberto Sottocorno defeated Terence Nugent, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, while Pawel Dilaj fell to Will Gray, 6-2, 6-3.
Auburn returns to the courts on Friday, Feb. 22 with a 1:30 p.m. match against No. 54 South Florida at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Tennis Match Results
Tulsa vs Auburn
Feb 17, 2008 at Auburn, Ala.
#23 Tulsa 4, #39 Auburn 3
Singles competition
1. Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) def. Arnau Brugues (TULSA) 7-5, 6-3
2. Tim Puetz (AU) def. #44 Ricardo Soriano (TULSA) 6-4, 6-1
3. Viktor Kolik (TULSA) def. Lukas Marsoun (AU) 7-6 (10-8), 6-2
4. Will Gray (TULSA) def. Pawel Dilaj (AU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Alberto Sottocorno (TULSA) def. Terence Nugent (AU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
6. Ross Cunningham (TULSA) def. Milan Krnjetin (AU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Alexey Tsyrenov/Terence Nugent (AU) def. #5 Ross Cunningham/Andy Connelly (TULSA) 8-5
2. Tim Puetz/Lukas Marsoun (AU) def. #15 Arnau Brugues/Ricardo Soriano (TULSA) 8-6
3. Viktor Kolik/Alberto Sottocorno (TULSA) def. Pawel Dilaj/Alex Petropoulos (AU) 8-3
Match Notes:
Tulsa 7-2; National ranking #23
Auburn 3-1; National ranking #39
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,6,1,3,5,4)
Official: Bob Offer T-2:57 A-81