Jan. 26, 2013
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - Auburn's 21st-ranked men's tennis team continued its unbeaten start to the season, knocking off No. 23 Indiana by a 6-1 score Saturday in the ITA Kick-Off at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The Tigers (4-0) continued their unbeaten start to the season in doubles play and claimed five of six singles matches, with four matches going the full three sets and two decided in second-set tiebreakers. Indiana fell to 1-3 on the season.
"Overall, I thought we competed well," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "I thought we did a good job in doubles on courts one and two, getting on top early. Then in singles we got off to a good start, we won four first sets. But Indiana pushed back hard, they really pushed us and tested us. I thought we stepped up as a team, which was good to see this early in the year."
Auburn will face 11th-ranked and tournament host Mississippi State at 1 p.m. Sunday with a trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on the line. It will not count as a conference match, but the stakes are still high. Live stats will be available through HailState.com. State defeated LSU in Saturday's second match.
"We'll have to play well tomorrow," Shore said. "Mississippi State has beaten us several times in a row and we're playing on their home court. But on the other hand, we've got some guys that have some experience that have been through this before. Hopefully that will shine through tomorrow."
Auburn got on the board first with a pair of doubles wins. Junior Dennis Lengsfeld and senior Lucas Lopasso earned an 8-2 win over IU's Daniel Bednarczyk and Sam Monette at the No. 2 position. The nation's second-ranked duo of junior Daniel Cochrane and senior Andreas Mies followed suit soon thereafter with an 8-3 win at the No. 1 spot over Isade Juneau and Josh MacTaggart.
Cochrane got the Tigers' first singles point at the No. 2 position with a straight-sets win over Juneau, 6-1, 7-6 (4). Sophomore Lukas Ollert made it 3-0 Tigers with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win on court three over Monette, and Lengsfeld clinched the match for Auburn with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-1 win over Dimitrije Tasic at the No. 4 spot.
Mies pushed the Auburn lead to 5-0 with a 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-3 win over MacTaggart at No. 1 singles, and Lopasso finished off a straight-set win over Bednarczyk, 6-4, 7-6 (5) to make it 6-0. Freshman Joseph Van Dooren was unable to finish off the sweep, falling in three sets at the No. 6 singles spot to Indiana's Elliott Yee, 5-7, 7-5, 4-6.
Auburn Men's Tennis Results
ITA Kick-Off Weekend
January 26, 2013
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre - Starkville, Miss.
#21 Auburn 6, #23 Indiana 1
Singles
1. #74 Andreas Mies (AU) def. Josh MacTaggart (IU), 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-3
2. Daniel Cochrane (AU) def. Isade Juneau (IU), 6-1, 7-6 (4)
3. Lukas Ollert (AU) def. Sam Monette (IU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
4. Dennis Lengsfeld (AU) def. Dimitrije Tasic (IU), 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-1
5. Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Daniel Bednarczyk (IU), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
6. Elliott Yee (IU) def. Joseph Van Dooren (AU), 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 6
Doubles
1. #2 Daniel Cochrane/Andreas Mies (AU) def. Isade Juneau/Josh MacTaggart (IU), 8-3
2. Dennis Lengsfeld/Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Daniel Bednarczyk/Sam Monette (IU), 8-2
3. Lukas Ollert/Joseph Van Dooren (AU) vs. Chris Essick/Dimitrije Tasic (IU), unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1