AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn men's tennis team opened SEC play Friday afternoon with a 5-2 loss to No. 16/23 South Carolina at the Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia.
The Gamecocks jumped out to a lead with the doubles point, winning matches by 6-1 scores on courts one and two. In singles, freshman Spencer Gray won his opening set and freshmen Tyler Stice and Finn Murgett and junior Diego Chavarria all forced third sets in their matches.
Gray went on to post a 7-5, 7-5 straight set victory over Jake Beasley on court four, and Murgett posted a shutout in his final set for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 comeback win over Thomas Brown on court five.
Stice was behind 5-1 in the third set to No. 38 Raphael Lambling, but closed the gap to 5-4 before Lambling clinched the match for the Gamecocks. Auburn is now 9-7 and South Carolina goes to 8-3.
Sunday, the Tigers visit Florida (11-2) for an 11 a.m. CT match at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville. The Gators are No. 4 in the Tennis Channel/USTA listing and No. 6 in the Oracle/ITA rankings.
Auburn opens home SEC play on Friday, March 6, when the Tigers host No. 39 Vanderbilt in a 2 p.m. CT match. All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn) and admission is free.
South Carolina 5, Auburn 2
Singles
#48 Paul Jubb (USC) def. Tim Dollman (AUB) 6-1, 6-0
#38 Raphael Lambling (USC) def. Tyler Stice 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
#115 Connor Thomson (USC) def. Tom Wright (AUB) 7-5, 6-1
Spencer Gray (AUB) def. Jake Beasley (USC) 7-5, 7-5
Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Thomas Brown (USC) 5-7, 6-4, 6-0
Beau Pelletier (USC) def. Diego Chavarria (AUB) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Doubles
Jubb/Lambling (USC) def. Wright/Murgett (AUB) 6-1
Thomson/Pelletier (USC) def. Dollman/Stice (AUB) 6-1
Chavarria/Anders Fry (AUB) v Brown/Beasley (USC) 2-4 unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles: 1,2; Singles: 1,3,4,5,2,6 ; Time of match: 2:46