March 13, 2008
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The No. 28 Men's Tennis team (7-5) advanced to the second round of the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic after it defeated the Brown Bears (6-7), 4-2 Thursday in Montgomery.
"Brown put up a tough fight," head coach Eric Shore said. "We caught a couple of breaks, and were able to win out the match, so, overall I am happy with the way we played."
The Tigers once again got the win with the help of their doubles performance, winning two of the three doubles matches to take the point. Auburn was in the lead in the third match, but it was left suspended in an effort to save time after the doubles point was decided.
Alexey Tsyrenov and Terence Nugent defeated Saurabh Kohli and Basu Ratnam, 9-7, in No. 1 singles. Pawel Dilaj and Milan Krnjetin pulled out the win over Chris Lee and Charlie Posner, 8-5, on court three to seal the doubles victory. Tim Puetz and Lucas Marsoun were ahead on court two, 6-5, over Sam Garland and Noah Gardner when the doubles point was clinched.
Auburn kept its momentum going into singles and won the first set in five of six matches, but Brown came back strong scoring its first point on court three as Nick Maurillo fell to Kendrick Au, 6-4, 6-2. Brown scored its second and final point of the match at court one as No. 89 Tsyrenov went down in three sets to Kohli, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.
Krnjetin defeated Garland on court six, 6-3, 6-0, followed by a win by Dilaj over Gardener, 6-4, 6-3 on court four.
Auburn clinched the match in No. 2 singles as Puetz defeated Lee, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5. When play was stopped Marsoun had defeated Ratnam in the first set, 7-5, but Ratnam was leading in the second set, 7-6.
Auburn takes on Oklahoma State in the second round of the Blue-Gray Classic Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Lagoon Park in Montgomery. The Sooners defeated Furman in the first round Thursday, 4-1.
Tennis Match Results
Brown vs Auburn
Mar 13, 2008 at Montgomery, Ala.
#28 Auburn 4, Brown 2
Singles competition
1. Saurabh Kohli (BROWN) def. #89 Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) 1-6, 7-6, 6-4
2. #114 Tim Puetz (AU) def. Chris Lee (BROWN) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
3. Lukas Marsoun (AU) vs. Basu Ratnam (BROWN) 7-5, 6-7, unfinished
4. Pawel Dilaj (AU) def. Noah Gardner (BROWN) 6-4, 6-3
5. Kendrick Au (BROWN) def. Nick Maurillo (AU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Milan Krnjetin (AU) def. Sam Garland (BROWN) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Alexey Tsyrenov/Terence Nugent (AU) def. Saurabh Kohli/Basu Ratnam (BROWN) 9-7
2. Tim Puetz/Lukas Marsoun (AU) vs. Sam Garland/Noah Gardner (BROWN) 6-5, unfinished
3. Pawel Dilaj/Milan Krnjetin (AU) def. Chris Lee/Charlie Posner (BROWN) 8-5
Match Notes:
Brown 6-7
Auburn 7-5; National ranking #28
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,4,5,1,2)
First Round of 2008 Blue-Gray Tennis Classic