Feb. 15, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 29 Auburn men's tennis team defeated the University of Central Florida, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Playing their first outdoor action of the spring, the men took two doubles matches and three singles points to earn their third win of the season.
The men started the day with a hard-fought battle for the doubles point. Taking the first doubles win for the Tigers, Alexey Tsyrenov and Lukas Marsoun took an 8-6 win over Marc Rocafort and Blaze Schwartz.
Finding the next win and the doubles point for the team, Milan Krnjetin and Michel Monteiro earned a 9-8 (7-1) match against Tarek Ben Soltane and Eugene Dolgovykh.
Ending the doubles play, Tim Puetz and Alex Petropoulos fell to Joe Delinks and Johan Beigart, 8-7 (9-7).
"We had a week to practice outside, but we didn't have all our guys during the week," head coach Eric Shore stated. "Anytime you go outside, you're going to notice a difference in your play."
With an early lead in the match, the Tigers met a determined UCF team in singles play. First to finish for Auburn was Tim Puetz, who took a 6-4, 6-2 match over Johan Beigart. With his win, Puetz moves to a flawless 4-0 record in singles play for the season. "Everything is working for me in my matches," Puetz admitted. "I'm playing well. I try to focus when I'm playing and I play well when I'm focused. I'm getting rid of my inconsistency in my matches and it's helping me a lot."
The Knights stormed back with the next two match-ups. Marc Rocafort defeated Auburn's Milan Krnjetin, 6-4, 6-1, and was followed by Joe Delinks, who beat sophomore Michel Monteiro, 6-3, 6-2.
With the overall match at a standstill, Auburn seniors Alexey Tsyrenov and Lukas Marsoun rallied to take the Tigers to victory. Tsyrenov took a 6-4, 6-3 win against UCF's Tarek Ben Soltane to give the Tigers another singles point. Immediately following Tsyrenov, Marsoun picked up another win as he battled to earn a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 match over Blaze Schwartz. Marsoun's singles point gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead on the day and an overall team victory.
Ending the day for Auburn, Alex Petropoulos lost to Eugene Dolgovykh, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).
"We were fortunate to win today," Shore said. "(Central Florida) came to play today and they were ready, but we weren't. We've had a few health issues this week, and that's not to make any excuses, but we were fortunate to get by with a win." The Auburn win brings the Tigers to a 3-1 record in spring season competition.
The Tigers will return to action at 1p.m. next Sunday when they face the No. 55 ranked Georgia Tech at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Tennis Match Results
U. of Central Florida vs Auburn
Feb 15, 2009
Auburn, Ala.
(Yarbrough Tennis Center)
Auburn 4, U. of Central Florida 3
Singles
1. Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) def. Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) 6-4, 6-3
2. Tim Puetz (AU) def. Johan Beigart (UCF) 6-4, 6-2
3. Lukas Marsoun (AU) def. Blaze Schwartz (UCF) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. Marc Rocafort (UCF) def. Milan Krnjetin (AU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Eugene Dolgovykh (UCF) def. Alex Petropoulos (AU) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Joe Delinks (UCF) def. Michel Monteiro (AU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
1. Alexey Tsyrenov/Lukas Marsoun (AU) def. Marc Rocafort/Blaze Schwartz (UCF) 8-6
2. Joe Delinks/Johan Beigart (UCF) def. Tim Puetz/Alex Petropoulos (AU) 8-7 (9-7)
3. Milan Krnjetin/Michel Monteiro (AU) def. Tarek Ben Soltane/Eugene Dolgovykh (UCF) 9-8 (7-1)
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,4,6,1,3,5)
Played outdoors
Official: Bob Offer T-4:38 A-47