Auburn's Tyler Stice has been named SEC newcomer of the week in men's tennis for his wins against No. 4 Tennessee and No. 20 Georgia.
Against Tennessee on Friday, Stice defeated No. 24-ranked Adam Walton in three sets; after dropping an opening-set tiebreaker 7-5, he went on to win 6-2, 6-4 in the remaining periods.
On Sunday, Stice followed that up with another three-set win, this time over No. 9 Trent Bryde of Georgia; four of Stice's five SEC victories this season have come in three sets. Against Bryde, Stice fell 2-6 in the first set, but rallied to win his second set 6-4 and then took a dramatic tiebreaker in the third set 8-6 to capture the match.
He was 1-0 in doubles, pairing with Jan Galka for a 6-1 victory over Tennessee's Giles Hussey and mark Wallner; his doubles match against Georgia went unfinished.
The Atlanta, Ga., product is 4-2 against ranked opponents this season; he is 10-4 in singles play overall and 5-2 in SEC matches. In doubles, he has been equally dominant. He and partner Jan Galka have posted an 11-1 record at the third doubles slot. They are 4-1 in SEC action.
"For us, Tyler Stice at number one is having such an amazing year," Auburn coach Bobby Reynolds said. "It's his mentality and his game style; there are a lot of people that don't want to play Tyler Stice, because they know they are in for an absolute war, whether he wins or loses the first set. That's a great asset to have at the top of your lineup, especially as a young player."
Stice earned SEC freshman of the week honors during the shortened 2020 season for his play against Florida State, Georgia Tech and The Citadel in February.
No. 39 Auburn returns to non-conference action this weekend with a 2 p.m. CT match Friday at No. 27 Tulane. The match, rescheduled from a February 5 contest postponed by inclement weather, will be played at the City Park Tennis Center in New Orleans.
