March 15, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - With rain on the plains and the match moved indoors, the No. 20 Auburn men's tennis team (7-4, 2-2 SEC) was unable to find much heat during a 6-1 loss to SEC-foe No. 3 Ole Miss (12-3, 4-0 SEC).
The Tigers dropped just their second doubles point of the season and met a tough Ole Miss team in singles play, finishing with the 6-1 loss.
"I thought we competed well today," head coach Eric Shore said. "We gave ourselves a chance in doubles and we were in each of our singles matches. You're going to lose sometimes, but you have to ride out some of the losses and hopefully things will break your way."
Starting the afternoon, the Rebels took the early lead as they claimed two of the three doubles match-ups. On court three, Milan Krnjetin and Michel Monteiro fell to Kalle Norberg and Otto Sauer, 8-3. Ole Miss then took the point on court one, with the No. 5 pair of Jonas Berg and Bram ten Berge topping the No. 11 duo of Alexey Tsyrenov and Tim Puetz, 8-6. The loss was the first for the Tigers' top pair.
Seeing Auburn's only doubles win of the day were Lukas Marsoun and Alex Stamchev, who defeated Devin Britton and Tucker Vorster, 8-7 (7-5).
Moving into doubles, Ole Miss kept the momentum as they built their lead with a win on court six with Christoph Theimann's defeat of Monteiro, 6-2, 6-0. The Rebels picked up another point as Devin Britton emerged with the three-set win over Puetz, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
With the Tigers down 3-0, Auburn finally found its first point of the day as Tsyrenov topped No. 35 Jonas Berg, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2).
The win was Tsyrenov's first SEC victory of the season.
"It was a good win for Alexey," Shore said. "He's our co-captain and senior leader. I thought he came back and played very well after a tough loss today and that's what good players do."
Following Auburn's first win, Ole Miss clinched the match point as Otto Sauer defeated Auburn's Krnjetin, 6-4, 6-3.
The Rebels continued to win out as Marcel Thiemann won over Stamchev, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, and Bram ten Berge defeated Marsoun, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
The loss drops the Tigers to 7-4 overall and 2-2 in SEC play, while the Rebels continue to improve at 12-2 and 4-0 in the SEC. The Tigers will return to action on Thursday, as they travel to Montgomery, Ala. to face SEC competition in the Blue/Gray Tournament.
"I think we're ready to get down to Montgomery and play," Shore noted. "They look forward to this tournament and it'll be a good opportunity for us this coming week."
During the four-day tournament, Auburn will take on No. 23 Alabama, No. 75 Mississippi State and No. 6 Tennessee.
#3 Ole Miss 6, #20 Auburn 1
Singles competition
1. #69 Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) def. #35 Jonas Berg (OM) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
2. #32 Devin Britton (OM) def. #105 Tim Puetz (AU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
3. #97 Bram ten Berge (OM) def. Lukas Marsoun (AU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
4. Otto Sauer (OM) def. Milan Krnjetin (AU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Marcel Thiemann (OM) def. Alex Stamchev (AU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
6. Christoph Thiemann (OM) def. Michel Monteiro (AU) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #5 Jonas Berg/Bram ten Berge (OM) def. #11 Alexey Tsyrenov/Tim Puetz (AU) 8-6
2. Lukas Marsoun/Alex Stamchev (AU) def. Devin Britton/Tucker Vorster (OM) 8-7 (7-5)
3. Kalle Norberg/Otto Sauer (OM) def. Milan Krnjetin/Michel Monteiro (AU) 8-3
Match Notes:
Ole Miss 12-2, 4-0 SEC; National ranking #3
Auburn 7-4, 2-2 SEC; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,2,1,4,5,3)
Match played indoors
Official: Bob Offer T-3:45 A-30