Feb. 10, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn men's tennis team couldn't complete a road comeback Friday afternoon at No. 29 Tulane, falling 5-2 at the City Park Pepsi Tennis Center in New Orleans.
"I'm happy with how our guys put themselves in a position to win the match," said Auburn coach Bobby Reynolds. "We need to know that through our hard work during practice, we've built what it takes to finish off our opponents. Hats off to Tulane; they changed the momentum in a couple of key matches and never gave up at any point. We are making strides in the right direction and we have another good opportunity tomorrow at South Alabama."
Tulane started the afternoon picking up the doubles point with wins on courts one and two, and took a 3-0 lead when Luis Erlenbusch topped Auburn's Dante Saleh in singles on court five and Tyler Schick bested Edward Nguyen on court four.
Auburn got a three-set win from freshman Carles Sarrio on court two, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 over Ewan Moore, and then sophomore Brandon Laubser posted a 7-6, 7-5 victory on court six over Tim Ruetzel to narrow the gap to 3-2.
The remaining matches both went to a third set before Tulane's Sebastian Rey pulled out a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over Conner Huertas del Pino on court three to clinch the match for the Green Wave.
Saturday, the Tigers (4-3) travel to South Alabama (5-2) in Mobile for a 1 p.m. match at the Lubel Memorial Courts. Tulane is now 5-1.
In the latest Oracle/ITA rankings, Auburn's top doubles team of Max Hinnisdaels and Conner Huertas del Pino ranks No. 13 nationally, while in singles, Hinnisdaels is No. 91.
Auburn returns home for a doubleheader with Samford Saturday, February 18; matches are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. All home matches are at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn) and admission is free.
Tulane 5, Auburn 2
Singles
Constantin Schmitz (TU) def. Max Hinnisdaels (AU) 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-0
Carles Sarrio (AU) def. Ewan Moore (TU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
Sebastian Rey (TU) def. Conner Huertas del Pino (AU) 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
Tyler Schick (TU) def. Edward Nguyen (AU) 6-3, 7-6 (5)
Luis Erlenbusch (TU) def. Dante Saleh (AU) 6-4, 6-2
Brandon Laubser (AU) def. Tim Ruetzel (TU) 7-6 (5), 7-5
Doubles
Chi-Shan Jao/Sebastian Rey (TU) def. Max Hinnisdaels/Conner Huertas del Pino (AU) 6-1
Ewan Moore/Luis Erlenbusch (TU) def. Edward Nguyen/Dante Saleh (AU) 6-3
Carles Sarrio/Olle Thestrup (AU) vs. Constantin Schmitz/Tyler Schick (TU) 4-3 unfinished
Order of Finish: Doubles: 1,2; Singles: 5,4,2,6,3,1