AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn remained undefeated in men's tennis with a pair of wins Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn. The Tigers defeated VCU 4-1 and downed Alabama A&M x-x to move to 5-0 on the season.
"It was a great weekend from our guys," said Auburn coach Bobby Reynolds. "We needed to come out with three wins; the effort and the battling we did at Clemson on Friday, on top of a late night coming back and having to practice on Saturday, to then playing a talented VCU team that wouldn't go away. We knew this weekend was going to be about grit and effort beyond the actual results. To come out with three wins, I'm very happy for the guys and for where we're starting, building on the effort we've put in."
Against VCU, Auburn captured the doubles point on a 6-3 win by Matteo DeVincentis and Tyler Stice on court one, and Diego Chavarria and Anders Fry clinched the point with a 7-6 win on court three, winning the tiebreaker 7-5.
Singles were tightly contested with VCU; five of the six matches went into a third set. Auburn was able to win the match behind singles wins from DeVincentis over David Cierny on court four (6-3, 2-6, 6-0) and freshman Finn Murgett over Rayane Stable on court five (6-2, 3-6, 6-3). The Tigers gained the team win behind freshman Spencer Gray's match-clinching victory on court six, defeating Timo Zgraggen by a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 score.
In the nightcap against Alabama A&M, the Tigers won the doubles point, with another pair of wins by DeVincentis/Stice and Chavarria/Fry, both by 6-1 scores. In singles, the Tigers took the first set in all six matches. Fry on court six, Michael Durham on court four and Murgett on court three posted the clinching wins in singles.
Auburn is now 5-0 for the spring season, while VCU is 1-2 and Alabama A&M is 0-1.
Auburn is on the road next weekend with matches at Minnesota on Friday and at Nebraska on Sunday.
The Tigers return home for a pair of matches Friday, February 7, against Florida State and The Citadel. All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn) and admission is free.
Auburn 4, VCU 1
Singles
Tim Dollman (AUB) v Lleyton Cronje (VCU) 6-4, 2-6, 4-5 unfinished
Tom Wright (AUB) v Charles Bertimon (VCU) 4-6, 6-2, 3-4 unfinished
#109 Inigo Torre Martin (VCU) def. Tyler Stice (AUB) 6-2, 6-4
Matteo DeVincentis (AUB) def. David Cierny (VCU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-0
Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Rayane Stable (VCU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Spencer Gray (AUB) def. Timo Zgraggen (VCU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
Doubles
DeVincentis/Stice (AUB) def. Stable/Torre Martin (VCU) 6-3
Murgett/Wright (AUB) v Cronje/Cierny (VCU) 5-5 unfinished
Chavarria/Anders Fry (AUB) def. Bertimon/Zgraggen (VCU) 7-6 (7-5)
Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3; Singles: 3,4,5,6; Time of match: 2:49; Official: Donna Jerome
Auburn 7, Alabama A&M 0
Singles
Tyler Stice (AUB) def. Panji Setiawan (AAMU) 6-1, 6-2
Matteo DeVincentis (AUB) def. Fermin Ruiz-Gespo (AAMU) 6-2, 6-2
Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Natiphat Mulada (AAMU) 6-2, 6-2
Michael Durham (AUB) def. Cristian Bigott (AAMU) 6-3, 6-0
Diego Chavarria (AUB) v Cheng Chang Yang (AAMU) 6-2, 7-5
Anders Fry (AUB) def. German Ruiz-Crespo (AAMU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
DeVincentis/Stice (AUB) def. Chang/Setiewan (AAMU) 6-1
Chavarria/Fry (AUB) def. Bigott/Mulada (AAMU) 6-1
Murgett/Durham (AUB) v G Ruiz/F Ruiz (AAMU) 3-3 unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles: 2,1; Singles: 6,4,3,2,1,5; Time of match: 2:00