Jan. 30, 2011
LUBBOCK, Texas - The 31st-ranked Auburn men's tennis recorded its first dual victory of the season as the Tigers topped No. 45 LSU on the second day of competition at the ITA Indoor Qualifier Sunday on the campus of Texas Tech University.
"The team hung in after losing the doubles point and fought back to win the match," head coach Eric Shore said. "I'm proud with how the team came together in the end to win after losing a tough match yesterday. We have a lot of work to do if we want to get where we want to be at the end of the year."
The Tigers (1-1) trailed LSU, 1-0, at the conclusion of the doubles competition and needed solid singles play from the squad. Securing Auburn's first point of the day was freshman Rafael Rondino at No. 4 singles. The Barueri, Brazil, product fell behind LSU's Sebastian Carlsson quick after dropping a 6-0 first-set decision, but battled back to take sets two (6-2) and three (6-1) to win the match.
Freshman Daniel Cochrane followed Rondino's example and captured another Auburn victory at No. 5 singles. Cochrane defeated Stefan Szacinski in two sets (6-3, 6-4) to put the Tigers ahead, 2-1.
Auburn's Andreas Mies picked up his second singles win of the weekend as he topped LSU's Julien Gauthier at No. 6 singles. Gauthier took set one (6-4), but Mies rebounded with a 6-4 win in both set two and three to give Auburn a 3-1 advantage.
Junior Alex Stamchev also put together a come-from-behind win to secure the Tigers' 4-1 team victory. At No. 2 singles, Stamchev dropped set one, 6-3, to Olivier Borsos. The Pleven, Bulgaria, native regrouped and captured set two (6-4) and set three (6-3) for Auburn.
A pair of singles matches remained in competition when play was called. Senior Tim Puetz and LSU's Neal Skupski were locked at 2-2 in the third set, while sophomore Tim Hewitt was trailing Mark Bowtell 5-4 in the third set at No. 3 singles.
In doubles play, Cochrane and sophomore Lucas Lopasso earned an 8-5 victory over Borsos and Roger Anderson at No. 2 doubles. LSU's Szacinski and Tom Knights captured a hard-fought 9-7 win over Mies and Rondino at No 3 doubles, while 27th-ranked Skupski and Carlsson solidified the LSU team point with an 8-6 win over Puetz and Stamchev.
The Tigers return home on Feb. 6 as the squad hosts Troy at 1 p.m. at the Yarbrough Tennis Center
Against No. 45 LSU
Singles
1. Tim Puetz (Auburn) vs. Neal Skupski (LSU); 6-7, 6-3, 2-2 unf.
2. Alex Stamchev (Auburn) def. Olivier Borsos (LSU); 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. Tim Hewitt (Auburn) vs. Mark Bowtell (LSU); 6-7, 6-1, 4-5 unf.
4. Rafael Rondino (Auburn) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU); 0-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Daniel Cochrane (Auburn) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU); 6-3, 6-4
6. Andreas Mies (Auburn) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU); 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. No. 27 Skupski/Carlsson (LSU) def. Puetz/Stamchev (Auburn); 8-6
2. Cochrane/Lopasso (Auburn) def. Borsos/Anderson (LSU); 8-5
3. Knights/Szacinski (LSU) def. Mies/Rondino (Auburn); 9-7
Match Notes
Auburn - 1-1; National Ranking No. 31
LSU - 0-2; National Ranking No. 45
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,5,6,2)