AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn men's tennis posted an exciting 4-1 victory over Georgia Tech and followed that up with a 4-0 win over Alabama State in non-conference action Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
"The doubles point is so key," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said of the Georgia Tech match. "The resilience that our guys showed – we were down six or seven breakpoints at times and then they took it to them in the tiebreaker. I hope we take confidence in that – if you go and do the right things and play aggressive, it's on your racquet to win and not on the opponent's. We can still fine-tune our doubles and be sharper, but the momentum that point takes into singles is huge.
"Before singles, I said to the guys we've got a great crowd, it's beautiful out today and you have the doubles lead at home. I said come out with energy, come out with belief and they did, winning five first sets against a team like Tech. We can just play downhill from there; it kind of takes the pressure off because you see that five other guys have won a first set.
"I couldn't be happier to get these wins and take that confidence forward."
Playing their first outdoor matches of the spring season, Auburn clinched the most exciting doubles competition of the year against Georgia Tech. After the Yellow Jackets won a 7-5 decision on court one, Matteo DeVincentis and Diego Chavarria were 7-5 winners on court two over Cole Gromley and Pablo Schelcher.
That left court three to decide the team doubles point. Tim Dollman and Filippo Mora took that contest with Zummy Bauer and Joseph Gandolfo to a tiebreaker, and overcame a 4-0 deficit in the tiebreaker to win it 7-5 and take the match by a 7-6 score.
In singles, Auburn won the first set in five of the six matches. Dollman dominated on court five with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Schelcher, and Mora added another team point with a 7-6, 6-4 win on court two over Gromley. Tad Maclean won his first set 7-6 with a 7-1 tiebreaker on court four over Andrew Li and clinched the team victory with a 6-3 second set.
In the evening match against Alabama State, Auburn won the doubles point. Anders Fry and Diego Chavarria won 6-3 on court three and Laubser and Maclean took a tiebreaker 7-4 to win 7-6 and clinch the doubles point.
Auburn posted three singles wins to clinch the match. Maclean was a 6-1, 6-2 victor on court two, Chavarria won 6-1, 6-2 on court six and Alex Rushin clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-3 win on court five.
Auburn is now 9-2 on the season, while Georgia Tech goes to 3-1 and Alabama State is now 1-4.
On Sunday, Auburn plays Minnesota (3-1) in a noon match. All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn) and admission is free.
Auburn 4, Georgia Tech 1
Singles
Carlos Divar (GT) def. Matteo DeVincentis (AUB) 6-2, 2-1 retired
Filippo Mora (AUB) def. #68 Cole Gromley (GT) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
#77 Brandon Laubser (AUB) v Phillip Gresk (GT) 7-5, 2-6 unfinished
Tad Maclean (AUB) def. Andrew Li (GT) 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
Tim Dollman (AUB) def. Pablo Schelcher (GT) 6-1, 6-3
Michael Durham (AUB) v Chris Yun (GT) 6-3, 4-6 unfinished
Doubles
Divar/Gresk (GT) def. Laubser/Maclean (AUB) 7-5
DeVincentis/Diego Chavarria (AUB) v Gromley/Schelcher (GT) 7-5
Mora/Dollman (AUB) def. Zummy Bauer/Joseph Gandolfo (GT) 7-6 (7-5)
Time of match: 2:36; Order of finish: Doubles: 1,2,3; Singles: 5,1,2,4
Auburn 4, Alabama State 0
Singles
Tim Dollman (AUB) v Ion Efrim (ASU) 6-4, 2-3 unfinished
Tad Maclean (AUB) def. Carl-Louis Luckmann (ASU) 6-1, 6-2
Michael Durham (AUB) v Tomas Fernandez (ASU) 6-0, 5-4 unfinished
Anders Fry (AUB) v Alexis Collard (ASU) 7-5, 2-2 unfinished
Alex Rushin (AUB) def. Alejo Calvis (ASU) 6-0, 6-3
Diego Chavarria (AUB) def. Chris Andre (ASU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
Laubser/Maclean (AUB) def. Efrim/Collard (ASU) 7-6 (7-4)
Fernandez/Luckmann (ASU) def. Mora/Dollman (AUB) 7-5
Fry/Diego Chavarria (AUB) def. Calvis/Andre (ASU) 6-3
Time of match: 2:15; Order of finish: Doubles: 3,2,1; Singles: 2,6,5
