March 13, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 20 Auburn men's tennis team (7-3, 2-1 SEC) was handed its first SEC loss of the season after a 4-3 defeat by the No. 75 Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-4, 1-2 SEC).
After dropping the doubles point, the Tigers were unable to top the visitors despite a late surge in singles play.
For the first time this season, the Tigers failed to claim the doubles point. In the deciding match-up, Lukas Marsoun and Alex Stamchev were unable to top MSU's Antonio Lastre and Daniel Sanchez in the tie-breaker, 9-8 (9-7).
Auburn's Alexey Tsyrenov and Tim Puetz continued their win streak with an 8-3 win over Christopher Doerr and Tanner Stump. The No. 11 pair now checks in at 9-0 (3-0 SEC). The Bulldogs took their first doubles win on court three, with Artem Ilyushin and Louis Cant defeating the Tigers' Milan Krnjetin and Michel Monteiro, 8-5.
"You can't expect to win doubles every time," head coach Eric Shore mentioned. "Our doubles is solid. We have to continue to improve on three, but they are showing improvement.
With the early advantage, the Bulldogs kept the momentum in singles as Doerr took a quick 6-1, 6-0 victory over Alex Petopoulos.
Auburn answered, however, with Stamchev's 6-2, 6-1 win on court five against Cant. The Auburn freshman has provided a solid lift for the team, as he moves to 6-0 on the season when at the five spot.
Giving the Tigers another victory and a 2-2 tie with the Bulldogs, Marsoun took a 6-4, 6-1 win over Sanchez on court three. It was then Puetz taking a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win over Artem Ilyushin on court two to give Auburn its first lead of the day at 3-2.
The Bulldogs answered immediately, bringing the match to a standstill after Lastre defeated Auburn's Krnjetin, 7-5, 6-3.
With the clinching point up for grabs, Tsyrenov battled to force a third set, but eventually fell to Ryan Farlow, 7-5, 6-7 (7-5), 6-4.
"It's a tough one to lose after you've been playing for five hours," Shore said. "We need to get better as a team. You're either moving forward or you're moving back."
The loss brings the Tigers to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in SEC play, while the Bulldogs improve to 5-4 and 1-2.
Auburn's next competition will come Sunday, as the No. 20 Tigers will face the No. 3 Ole Miss Rebels (10-2, 2-0 SEC). Action is set to begin at 1 p.m. at the City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarbrough Tennis Center.