AUBURN, Ala. – Despite winning the doubles point, the Auburn men's tennis team came out on the short end of a 4-1 decision to No. 21 Alabama Friday afternoon in an SEC match at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Alabama is the 11th ranked opponent the Tigers have faced this season.
"We have to get better. That's it, period," Auburn coach Bobby Reynolds said. "We came out winning in doubles, but then in singles, we don't believe in ourselves. Until we start believing in ourselves, it's going to be difficult to change.
"You see when guys are playing with less emotion and belief -- their heads, and shoulders are down. It's obviously easier to play with confidence, but we have to compete from the beginning. That's how you gain confidence, making sure you are going to compete regardless of the outcome."
Playing before the biggest home crowd of the season, Auburn jumped out in doubles play. Matteo DeVincentis and Filippo Mora had little trouble with Alabama's Alexey Nesterov and Zhe Zhou on court two, posting a 6-2 win, and then Brandon Laubser and Tad Maclean upset the nation's 15th-ranked doubles tandem, Mazen Osama and Patrick Kaukovalta 7-5 on court one to clinch the doubles point.
In singles, Maclean and Tim Dollman each forced a first-set tiebreaker, with Maclean coming out ahead 7-4 on court three and Dollman falling 7-4. Neither of those matches was concluded when Alabama clinched the match with straight-set wins on courts five, one, six and two.
Auburn is now 12-13 overall and still seeking its first SEC win of the season. The Crimson Tide is 13-6 overall and 3-4 in SEC action. The Tigers return to action next Friday with an SEC road match at No. 19 Tennessee.
#21 Alabama 4, Auburn 1
Singles
#39 Mazen Osama (UA) def. Matteo DeVincentis (AU) 6-1, 6-4
Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Filippo Mora (AU) 6-3, 6-2
Tad Maclean (AU) v Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) 7-6 (4), 3-1 unfinished
Tim Dollman (AU) v Zhe Zhou (UA) 6-7 (5), 0-0 unfinished
Riccardo Roberto (UA) def. Brandon Laubser (AU) 6-3, 6-2
Jeremy Gschwendtner (UA) def. Michael Durham (AU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
Laubser/Maclean (AU) def. #15 Kaukovalta/Osama (UA) 7-5
DeVincentis/Mora (AU) def. Alexey Nesterov/Zhou (UA) 6-2
Ortiz/Roberto (UA) def. Anders Fry/Diego Chavarria (AU) 6-4
Time of match: 2:00; Order of finish: Doubles: 2,3,1; Singles: 5,1,6,2