The Auburn men's tennis team gained an important SEC win, its first of the season, with a 6-1 defeat of Vanderbilt Friday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The match was moved indoors because of rain.
"SEC wins don't come easily and every match is a tough match, so especially for our older guys, this is a good feeling," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "We've been wanting this feeling, and it's a testament to our players, their commitment and their willingness to keep building from here."
The Tigers took the doubles point for the eighth time this season. Tom Wright and Maxwell Giddens got on the board first with a 6-3 victory on court two over Vanderbilt's Marcus Ferriera and Macsen Sisam, and clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win by Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett on court one over George Harwell and Max Freeman of the Commodores.
Auburn continued its momentum in singles, sweeping all six of the first sets. Tad Maclean got a point for the Tigers first, posting a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Max Freeman on court three for Maclean's first SEC victory of the season. Auburn's Jan Galka also picked up his first SEC singles win with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over Macsen Sisam on court four to give the Tigers a 3-0 match lead.
Playing on court six, Finn Murgett clinched the match for Auburn with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Joubert Klopper.
After the match was decided, Auburn posted two more wins in singles to pick up its first SEC win since 2018. Tyler Stice defeated his second nationally ranked opponent in a week with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 117 George Harwell of Vanderbilt and Tim Dollman finished the scoring winning a third-set tiebreaker 10-4 for a victory on court two.
"Starting with doubles, getting that point was monstrous," Reynolds said. "We're starting to feel a little different pressure than in matches before; we fell like we should win on all courts in doubles. It's a credit to our guys to fight through and do that. On court two, Tom and Max were able to win early and then Tad and Finn fought back on court one to clinch the point, which was huge.
"At the break, I told everyone just to breathe and then go out and do what we do in singles. We came out and fought from the beginning, winning all six first sets, and that put scoreboard pressure on Vanderbilt for the rest of the match."
The Tigers (4-6, 1-2 SEC) continue conference play Sunday, entertaining No. 15 Kentucky (11-2) in a noon match at Yarbrough. Kentucky has three players nationally ranked in singles after the fall tournaments: Liam Draxl (45), Alexandre Leblanc (114) and Joshua Lapadat (123). Vanderbilt is now 4-4 (0-3 SEC).
All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (1717 Richland Road, Auburn). Fans wearing face coverings are welcome to attend all matches played outdoors; fans may want to bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating to remain socially distanced. If weather moves the match indoors, only participants and officials will be admitted.
Auburn 6, Vanderbilt 1
Singles
Tyler Stice (AU) def. #117 George Harwell (VU) 6-3, 6-4
Tim Dollman (AU) def. Marcus Ferreira (VU) 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 1-0 (10-4)
Tad Maclean (AU) def. Max Freeman (VU) 6-2, 6-2
Jan Galka (AU) def. Macsen Sisam (VU) 6-3, 6-1
Jeremie Casabon (VU) def. Maxwell Giddens (AU) 5-7, 6-0, 1-0 (10-7)
Finn Murgett (AU) def. Joubert Klopper (VU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
Tad Maclean/Finn Murgett (AU) def. George Harwell/Max Freeman (VU) 6-4
Tom Wright/Maxwell Giddens (AU) def. Marcus Ferreira/Macsen Sisam (VU) 6-3
Jan Galka/Tyler Stice (AU) v Jeremie Casabon/Adam Sraberg (VU) 4-5 unfinished
Time of match: 2:35; Order of finish: Doubles: 2,1; Singles: 3,4,6,1,5,2; Official: Donna Jerome