Jan. 27, 2013
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - Auburn's 21st-ranked men's tennis team fought to the final point, but came up just short in a thrilling dual match against No. 11 Mississippi State on Sunday, dropping a 4-3 decision to the Bulldogs at the A. J. Pitts Tennis Centre in the finale of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
Auburn (4-1) fell for the first time this season while Mississippi State (4-0) advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships with their win. The match did not count toward the SEC standings; the two teams will square off again in the conference opener March 1 in Auburn.
With the match tied at 3-3, it all came down to Auburn's 74th-ranked Andreas Mies against MSU's 25th-ranked Romain Bogaerts at the No. 1 singles spot. Bogaerts took the first set, 7-5, but Mies built up a 5-3 lead in set two and had a chance to serve for the set. But Bogaerts broke back to make the score 5-4, and the second set eventually went to a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Mies had set point at 6-5 with a chance to send it to a third set, but Bogaerts won three straight points to clinch the match with a 7-5, 7-6 (6) win.
The Tigers got on the board first, but it took their biggest effort of the season so far. Auburn's team of Dennis Lengsfeld and Lucas Lopasso got the Tigers off to a good start with an 8-2 win over Zach White and Ethan Wilkinson on court 2. But a win by Bogaerts and Pedro Dumont over Lukas Ollert and Joseph Van Dooren on court three, 8-3, would send it to court one for the clincher.
The match on court one headed to a tiebreaker at 7-7, the first of the season for the Tigers in doubles. And Auburn's No. 2-ranked team of Daniel Cochrane and Mies prevailed in the breaker, 7-3, to take an 8-7 (3) win over MSU's 28th-ranked team of Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the match.
Auburn would make it 2-0 after Ollert made quick work of MSU's James Chaudry at the No. 3 singles spot, taking a 6-3, 6-1 win. But the Bulldogs would claim victory in the next three singles matches to conclude.
Angus took a 6-3, 6-3 win over Lengsfeld on court four to put MSU on the board, and 81st-ranked Stropp downed Cochrane in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 2 spot to tie the match at two points apiece. Mississippi State then took the lead at 3-2 when a valiant comeback effort from Van Dooren on court six fell short as Dumont took a 6-3, 7-5 win.
But after dropping his first set at the No. 5 position, Lopasso dominated the final two sets to take a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Stefan Vinti to knot the match at 3-3.
The Tigers will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 2, with a dual match in Birmingham against UAB. The match is set for a 1 p.m. start at the UAB Tennis Courts.
Auburn Men's Tennis Results
ITA Kick-Off Weekend
January 27, 2013
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre - Starkville, Miss.
#11 Mississippi State 4, #21 Auburn 3
Singles
1. #25 Romain Bogaerts (MSU) def. #74 Andreas Mies (AU), 7-5, 7-6 (6)
2. #81 Malte Stropp (MSU) def. Daniel Cochrane (AU), 6-4, 6-2
3. Lukas Ollert (AU) def. James Chaudry (MSU), 6-3, 6-1
4. Jordan Angus (MSU) def. Dennis Lengsfeld (AU), 6-3, 6-3
5. Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Stefan Vinti (MSU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
6. Pedro Dumont (MSU) def. Joseph Van Dooren (AU), 6-3, 7-5
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 2, 6, 5, 1
Doubles
1. #2 Daniel Cochrane/Andreas Mies (AU) def. #28 Jordan Angus/Malte Stropp (MSU), 8-7 (3)
2. Dennis Lengsfeld/Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Zach White/Ethan Wilkinson (MSU), 8-2
3. Romain Bogaerts/Pedro Dumont (MSU) def. Lukas Ollert/Joseph Van Dooren (MSU), 8-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1