Oct. 23, 2011
AUBURN - Auburn men's tennis junior Andreas Mies will play for the singles title in the USTA/ITA Men's Southern Regional after defeating his second-straight top-50 opponent in Sunday's semifinal at Auburn's Yarbrough Tennis Center.
In addition, sophomore Daniel Cochrane won the championship in the consolation singles draw, completing a strong weekend of back-draw play after falling in his opening match Thursday.
Mies, a junior from Germany ranked 70th in the ITA national rankings, continued his strong run through the singles main draw that featured 82 players from 13 schools from Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. He moved into the finals with a hard-fought, three-set win over 46th-ranked Malte Stropp of Mississippi State, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
It was Mies' second straight win over a top-50 opponent from MSU after he defeated the Bulldogs' Louis Cant, ranked 36th, in Saturday's quarterfinal round.
"He's defeated two guys ranked in the top 50," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "He had to raise his level today in the third set in order to finish that match off. He saved a couple of break points in his service game at 3-all in the third, that was a huge game when he held serve. He continues to play better and better."
Mies will face Ole Miss junior Jonas Lutjen in the championship match, set for 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Lutjen is ranked No. 72 in the country and advanced to the final with a 6-3, 6-4 win over LSU's Olivier Borsos.
Monday's championship will also mark the third consecutive year for an Auburn entry to compete for a title at the ITA Southern Regional. In 2009, Tim Puetz won the singles title and partnered with Alex Stamchev to take the doubles crown in New Orleans. Last season, it was Stamchev advancing to the final before falling to Tucker Vorster of Ole Miss.
Cochrane, meanwhile, fought his way through the back draw, winning two matches on Sunday to capture the consolation title. He defeated LSU's Thom Knights 6-2, 6-2, in the semifinals early Sunday morning, then came back to take down Johan Backstrom of Ole Miss in the final, 6-0, 6-1.
"I'm proud of Dan coming back after a tough loss on Thursday winning five straight matches to win the back draw," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "It shows a lot of toughness on his part and what he's capable of doing."
The main draw doubles championship will also take place Monday morning. The Ole Miss team of Backstrom and Lutjen will team up against Borsos and Chris Simpson at 9 a.m. before Mies faces Lutjen at 10:30. Admission is free.
The winners of each match will receive an automatic berth in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships, set for early next month at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
Auburn Men's Tennis Results
USTA/ITA Men's Southern Regional
October 23, 2011 - Yarbrough Tennis Center
Singles Main Draw - Semifinals
#70 Andreas Mies (AU) def. #46 Malte Stropp (MSU), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Singles Consolation Draw - Semifinals
Daniel Cochrane (AU) def. Thom Knights (LSU), 6-2, 6-2
Singles Consolation Draw - Championship
Daniel Cochrane (AU) def. Johan Backstrom (Ole Miss), 6-0, 6-1