April 23, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The sixth-seeded Auburn men's tennis team put together a 4-3 upset over third-seeded Georgia on day two of the 2010 SEC Tournament Friday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Kentucky.
"It was a complete team effort today," head coach Eric Shore said. "I'm very happy and proud of some of the younger guys that stepped up for us. This is a big win for Auburn tennis and we're anxious to play again tomorrow."
With the win, the Tigers advance to the conference semifinals; a place the team hasn't been since 2002 when Auburn reached the tournament finals. Auburn, ranked No. 37 nationally, improves its overall record to 11-11, while the No. 11 Bulldogs fall to 17-7 on the season.
The Tiger freshman duo of Tim Hewitt and Lucas Lopasso kicked off the day with an 8-5 win over Drake Bernstein and Will Oliver at No. 3 doubles. The win is the pair's third-straight victory and second during the conference tournament, while it also improves their record together to 7-11 on the season.
The 13th-ranked team of Tim Puetz and Alex Stamchev put Auburn up 1-0 after the duo topped No. 28 Nate Schnugg and Javier Garrapiz, 8-5, at No. 1 doubles. The win moves Puetz and Stamchev to 15-6 overall.
Also competing in doubles was the Tiger team of Andreas Mies and Michel Monteiro at No. 2 doubles. The pair was tied at four apiece with Georgia's Christian Vitulli and Jamie Hunt before play was called.
Georgia opened up singles competition with a pair of wins to take the 2-1 advantage. At No. 2 singles, No. 81 Schnugg defeated Auburn's No. 97 Stamchev in two sets (6-1, 7-5). Hunt followed with a two-set (6-3, 6-2) win over Hewitt at No. 3 singles.
Auburn tied the match at two with a win at No. 1 singles as No. 20 Puetz topped No. 23 Garrapiz in a three-set battle. Garrapiz came away with a 6-3 set-one win, but Puetz fired back with a tough 7-5 victory in set two. Puetz closed the match with a 6-3 win in the final set to improve his overall singles record to 16-6 on the season.
The Bulldogs, however, pulled ahead to go up 3-2 on a three-set victory at No. 4 singles. Bernstein captured a 6-1 set-one win over Lopasso, but Lopasso followed with a 7-6 (7) win in set two. Bernstein finished with a 6-1 final set victory to give Georgia its third team point.
The fate of the match came down to the No. 5 and No. 6 singles where a pair of Auburn freshmen fought for the team victory. Auburn's Oliver Strecker took a quick 6-1 first-set win over Vitulli at No. 5 singles and followed with a 7-6 (3) win in the second set to tie the match at three.
With the match on the line, freshman Andreas Mies put together a solid performance at No. 6 singles and recorded a two-set (6-2, 6-4) win over Will Reynolds to give the Tigers the 4-3 win over Georgia.
Auburn will face the winner of the #10 Mississippi State/#2 Florida match in the SEC Tournament semifinals Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. CST.
At 2010 SEC Tournament - Against #3 Georgia
Doubles
1. No. 13 Puetz/Stamchev (AU) def. No. 28 Schnugg/Garrapiz (Georgia); 8-5
2. Mies/Monteiro (AU) vs. Hunt/Vitulli (Georgia); 4-4, unf.
3. Hewitt/Lopasso (AU) def. Bernstein/Oliver (Georgia); 8-5
Singles
1. No. 20 Tim Puetz (AU) def. No. 23 Javier Garrapiz (Georgia); 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. No. 23 Nate Schnugg (Georgia) def. No. 97 Alex Stamchev (AU); 6-1, 7-5
3. Jamie Hunt (Georgia) def. Tim Hewitt (AU); 6-3, 6-2
4. Drake Bernstein (Georgia) def. Lucas Lopasso (AU); 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-1
5. Oliver Strecker (AU) def. Christian Vitulli (Georgia); 6-1, 7-6 (3)
6. Andreas Mies (AU) def. Will Reynolds (Georgia); 6-2, 6-4
Match Notes
Georgia 17-7; National ranking #11
Auburn 11-11, National ranking #37
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,3,1,4,5,6)