March 2, 2012
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OXFORD, Miss. - The Auburn men's tennis team fell in its first Southeastern Conference match of the season on Friday, dropping a 5-2 decision to No. 44 Ole Miss at the Gillom Sports Center.
"We just didn't have enough tonight," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "We were close in doubles, but they were a little better. We had our chances at No. 3 doubles, and we lost a breaker there. (Alex) Stamchev got a good win for us that kept us in the match, got us some momentum, and we were battling. We didn't go away; we battled back to 3-2. We just couldn't close the deal. They're a very good team, we knew that going in. And hopefully we get to see these guys again later in the year."
Auburn (10-3, 0-1 SEC) dropped the doubles point for the fifth straight match in which doubles matches were played. The 19th-ranked duo of Marcel Thiemann and Chris Thiemann from Ole Miss (4-2, 1-0 SEC) gave the Rebels an early advantage with an 8-2 win over Alex Stamchev and Daniel Cochrane at the No. 1 position. In No. 3 doubles, Lucas Lopasso and Rafael Rondino fought to the end with William Kallberg and Johan Backstrom, but eventually fell in a tiebreaker, 9-8, to give Ole Miss the doubles point. The Rebels made it a sweep in doubles with a win at No. 2 as Nik Scholtz and Johan Lutjen downed Auburn's Andreas Mies and Lukas Ollert, 8-5.
Ole Miss then took four of the six singles matches to secure the SEC victory. The Rebels took a 2-0 lead when Scholtz, ranked 55th in the nation, took down No. 20 Mies in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. A win by No. 48 Lutjen on court three over Cochrane, 6-3, 6-1, gave Ole Miss a 3-0 lead.
But Stamchev earned a win for the Tigers at the No. 2 position to put Auburn on the board as he defeated No. 46 Marcel Thiemann, 7-6, 6-4.
The second wave of singles matches started with Ollert earning his second win over a ranked opponent, downing No. 49 Kallberg, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 4 singles to pull Auburn back within striking distance at 3-2. However, Rondino would drop his match at No. 6 to Backstrom, 6-2, 6-4, to clinch the match for Ole Miss.
Lopasso took Chris Thiemann to a third set on court five, but Thiemann took the victory in a super tiebreaker, 6-2, 5-7, 1-0, to wrap up the match that lasted nearly six hours.
The match was played indoors due to inclement weather in the Oxford area.
Auburn will complete its opening conference road trip on Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. match at Mississippi State. Live stats will be available through HailState.com.
Auburn Men's Tennis Results
March 2, 2012
Gillom Sports Center - Oxford, Miss.
#44 Ole Miss 5, #12 Auburn 2
Singles
1. #55 Nik Scholts (UM) def. #20 Andreas Mies (AU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Alex Stamchev (AU) def. #46 Marcel Thiemann (UM), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
3. #48 Jonas Lutjen (UM) def. Daniel Cochrane (AU), 6-3, 6-1
4. #118 Lukas Ollert (AU) def. #49 William Kallberg (UM), 6-4, 6-2
5. Chris Thiemann (UM) def. Lucas Lopasso (AU), 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-7)
6. Johan Backstrom (UM) def. Rafael Rondino (AU), 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 4, 6, 5
Doubles
1. #19 Marcel Thiemann/Chris Thiemann (UM) def. Alex Stamchev/Daniel Cochrane (AU), 8-2
2. Nik Scholtz/Jonas Lutjen (UM) def. Andreas Mies/Lukas Ollert (AU), 8-5
3. William Kallberg/Johan Backstrom (UM) def. Rafael Rondino/Lucas Lopasso (AU), 9-8 (5)
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Match Notes
Auburn 10-3 (0-1 SEC), National ranking #12
Ole Miss 4-2 (1-0 SEC), National ranking #44
Att - 356