March 14, 2008
MONTGOMERY - The 28th-ranked Auburn men's tennis team (8-5) advanced to the semi-finals of the 2008 Blue-Gray Tennis Classic Friday as the Tigers pulled out a 4-0 win over No. 24 Oklahoma State.
Auburn won the first four singles matches of the meeting with the Sooners, earning the four points needed for the win. In an effort to save time, the remaining matches, including all of the doubles matches, were suspended.
"We showed up to compete from the first ball today, unlike last Sunday at Mississippi State," said head coach Eric Shore. "We started with singles, but we were ready to play and jumped on them early. We jumped out 3-0 with matches all in straight sets, we were just ready to play today."
Matches at the Blue-Gray Classic are typically set up similar to regular dual matches with doubles first, followed by singles, but the format was changed Friday because of weather delays brought on by morning rain showers.
While Shore was pleased with the play of everyone on his team, he was especially happy with junior Alexey Tsyrenov.
"Alexey steps up, he gets the job done," said Shore. "He is banged up right now, but he played. He was a warrior for us today. Overall, everybody did a good job, but Alexey, I have to give him a lot of credit."
Lukas Marsoun and Terence Nugent made light work of their matches, winning both in straight sets. Marsoun defeated Mark Kepler, 6-2, 6-2, while Nugent defeated Daniel Byrnes, 6-4, 6-2.
Auburn's top player, No. 89 Tsyrenov, also won his match in straight sets, but had to go to a tiebreaker to earn the win in the second. Tsyrenov blew past No. 13 Oleksandr Nedovyesov, 6-1, in the first set before pulling out the 7-6 win for the match victory.
No. 114 Tim Peutz scored the final point for Auburn, going three sets with No. 70 Dmytro Petrov to get the win. Puetz lost the first set, 7-5, before bouncing back to take the next two, 6-2, 6-2, for the win.
Auburn is now 5-5 on the season against teams ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings with all 10 of those matches coming within the Tigers' last 11 matches this season.
With the win, Auburn moves on to play No. 25 Texas Tech in the tournament semi-finals. The Red Raiders defeated No. 64 Wisconsin, 4-3, in its first-round match. Tech then defeated No. 19 Virginia Commonwealth, 4-2, to advance to the semi-finals.
Action in the Auburn - Texas Tech match is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala.
Tennis Match Results
Auburn vs Oklahoma State
Mar 14, 2008 at Montgomery, Ala.
#28 Auburn 4, #24 Oklahoma State 0
Singles competition
1. #89 Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) def. #13 Oleksandr Nedovyesov (OKSTATE) 6-1, 7-6
2. #114 Tim Puetz (AU) def. #70 Dmytro Petrov (OKSTATE) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
3. Lukas Marsoun (AU) def. Mark Kepler (OKSTATE) 6-2, 6-2
4. Terence Nugent (AU) def. Daniel Byrnes (OKSTATE) 6-4, 6-2
5. Anton Bobytskyi (OKSTATE) vs. Pawel Dilaj (AU) 6-7, 6-4, unfinished
6. Egor Sobolta (OKSTATE) vs. Alex Petropoulos (AU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-2, unfinished
Match Notes:
Auburn 8-5; National ranking #28
Oklahoma State 7-5; National ranking #24
Order of finish: Doubles (DNP); Singles (3,4,1,2)
Second Round of the 2008 Blue-Gray Tennis Classic