Coach Bobby Reynolds couldn't have been more pleased with how his Auburn Tigers responded in their first competition of the new season.
In a series of matches against Miami, Clemson and Vanderbilt at this weekend's Auburn Fall Invitational at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, the Tigers' combined singles and doubles record was 28-7 (21-5 in singles, 7-2 in doubles). Auburn's Tyler Stice was the overall singles champion, while Stice and Jan Galka claimed the doubles championship.
"Overall, the weekend was very successful," Reynolds says. "How we got through some of the matches might have been a little bit bumpy, but to have that much success in the end in singles and doubles speaks very highly of where our program is right now and the level of tennis our guys are playing.
"The ultimate goal this weekend was to get as many matches as we could, because I knew we were in great condition and we need to know where we stand going into the spring. The nice thing about our team is up and down the lineup, we have five to seven guys who are interchangeable based on matchups and how they are playing at that time. That's so exciting to have that kind of depth on our team."
One key to that weekend success was the Tigers' ability to outlast their opponents in long matches, winning nine of 12 matches that went three sets.
"We're in great condition. We've worked really hard this fall on that and you're seeing some trends in us being very successful in three-set matches. Our guys are ready to compete," Reynolds explains. "One of the controllables that we talk about is making sure you're in the best condition you can be in, so when you walk out on the court, you know you've already won in one of the key aspects. As a coach, trying to make sure we're getting better, we did a really good job of coming out in those three-set matches and winning the first set, and in the end, our conditioning was better than our opponents, which allowed us to win those."
Another winning factor was the continuing transformation of the program's culture.
"Our culture is taking huge steps. All our players – whether they're winning, losing, playing or have completed their matches -- are expressing their emotions in every situation and that is so important to our success in a team sport. The players feed off that emotion," Reynolds says. "Our guys have taken up to be better at that and this weekend we did a really good job."
Three Auburn players – NCAA singles qualifier Tyler Stice, NCAA doubles finalist Tad Maclean and British freshman Will Nolan – were undefeated in both singles and doubles over the weekend.
"These were three teams that are NCAA tournament teams, so when you have a winning record in both singles and doubles against that type of opposition, that speaks volumes about your success and the time and effort put forth during the summer," Reynolds said.
"I'm maybe most proud of Will because he's never played college tennis before, and the environment and emotions of playing doubles straight into singles or the reverse and all the ups and downs – mentally, that's taxing, so for him to go undefeated is exciting.
"Our newer guys did very well. It's great to have Jackson Ross back after a wrist injury; the good thing is he has four years ahead. Having him back on the court is a great addition to our team and physically he's ready to compete.
"Will Nolan and Raul Dobai are our new additions and they bring different positives with them. Will has that freshman demeanor about him where everything is so new and agreeable. From a tennis standpoint, there are things we see as coaches to improve his game and that's exciting.
"Raul is a big guy who played No. 1 and was player of the year in his conference at New Mexico, so to get someone who has already been in the college environment with his understanding of what he needs to do to help the team is so valuable."
The Tigers hope to continue their success when Auburn hosts the ITA Southern Regionals October 14-19. "If you come out to a match, you're going to see that these guys want to be out there. They bleed the orange and blue on court and aren't afraid to show it," Reynolds says.
"We have a venue where you can get up close and personal with those student-athletes and can be right there yelling with them. That support makes a huge impact against the opponents and we welcome folks to come out."
Full weekend results:
Doubles/
Dan Martin/Ilarion Danilchenko (Mia) def. Teodor Giusca/Yizhou Liu (Clem) 8-6
Ryuhei Azuma/Spencer Whitaker (Clem) def. Franco Aubone/Casper Christensen (Mia) 8-6
Oren Vasser/Juan Martin Jalif (Mia) def. Tim Pitts/Maxwell Smith (Clem) 8-6
Spencer Gray (AU)/Bojan Jankulovski (Mia) def. Trey Stinchcomb/Andrew Puskas (Clem) 8-6
Jorge Plans/Daniel Labrador (Clem) def. Josh Raab/Jackson Ross (Aub) 9-8 (2)
Tad Maclean/Finn Murgett (Aub) def. George Harwell/Max Freeman (Vandy) 9-8 (4)
Will Nolan/Raul Dobai (Aub) def. Macsen Sisam/Joubert Klopper (Vandy) 9-7
Tyler Stice/Jan Galka (Aub) def. Michael Ross/Connor Rob-Wilcox (Vandy) 8-4
George Harwell/Max Freeman (Vandy) def. Yizhou Liu/Teodor Giusca (Clem) 8-6
Michael Ross/Marcus Ferriera (Vandy) def. Ryuhei Azuma/Spencer Whitaker (Clem) 8-1
Joubert Klopper/Connor Robb-Wilcox (Vandy) def. Tim Pitts/Trey Stinchcomb (Clem) 8-4
Jan Galka/Tyler Stice (Aub) def. Dan Martin/Franco Aubone (Mia) 8-3
Oren Vasser/Juan Martin Jalif (Mia) def. Raul Dobai (AU)/Daniel Labrador (Clem) 9-8 (6)
Tad Maclean/Will Nolan (Aub) def. Bojan Jankulovski/Casper Christensen (Mia) 8-4
Dan Martin/Franco Aubone (Mia) def. George Harwell/Max Freeman (Vandy) 8-4
Michael Ross/Marcus Ferreira (Vandy) def. Oren Vasser/Juan Martin Jalif (Mia) 8-4
Joubert Klopper/Connor Robb-Wilcox (Vandy) def. Casper Christensen/Bojan Jankulovski (Mia) 8-5
Yizhou Liu/Teodor Giusca (Clem) def. Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (Aub) 8-6
Tyler Stice/Jan Glaka (Aub) def. Tim Pitts/Spencer Whitaker (Clem) 9-8 (4)
Tad Maclean/Will Nolan (Aub) def. Maxwell Smith/Andrew Puscas (Clem) 8-5
Singles/
Teodor Giusca (Clem) def. Bojan Jankulovski (Mia) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Dan Martin (Mia) def. Ryuhei Azuma (Clem) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4
Juan Martin Jalif (Mia) def. Jorge Plans (Clem) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5)
Yizhou Liu (Clem) def. Ilarion Danilchenko (Mia) 6-4, 6-0
Casper Christensen (Mia) def. Tim Pitts (Clem) 7-6 (9), 0-6, 4-0 retired
Spencer Whitaker (Clem) def. Franco Aubone (Mia) 6-1, 6-1
Oren Vasser (Mia) def. Maxwell Smith (Clem) 6-1, 6-1
Jackson Ross (Aub) def. Andrew Puscas (Clem) 7-6 (6), 6-1
Trey Stinchcomb (Clem) def. Josh Raab (Aub) 6-7 (4), 6-2, 7-5
Spencer Gray (Aub) def. Daniel Labrador (Clem) 6-4, 7-6 (4)
Tyler Stice (Aub) def. George Harwell (Vandy) 6-1, 6-2
Joubert Klopper (Vandy) def. Jan Galka (Aub) 7-6 (2), 6-1
Raul Dobai (Aub) def. Marcus Ferriera (Vandy) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
Tad Maclean (Aub) def. Michael Ross (Vandy) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
Will Nolan (Aub) def. Max Freeman (Vandy) 6-1, 6-2
Jackson Ross (Aub) def. Connor Robb-Wilcox (Vandy) 6-2, 6-1
Macsen Sisam (Vandy) def. Spencer Gray (Aub) 2-6, 7-5, 7-5
Teodor Giusca (Clem) def. Joubert Klopper (Vandy) 6-3, 7-6 (1)
George Marwell (Vandy) def. Ryuhei Azuma (Clem) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Jorge Plans (Clem) def. Marcus Ferriera (Vandy) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (1)
Yizhou Liu (Clem) def. Michael Ross (Vandy) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Spencer Whitaker (Clem) def. Macsen Sisam (Vandy) 6-3, 7-5
Tim Pitts (Clem) def. Max Freeman (Vandy) 6-1, 6-2
Connor Robb-Wilcox (Vandy) def. Trey Stinchcomb (Clem) 7-5, 7-5
Tyler Stice (Aub) def. Juan Martin Jalif (Mia) 6-4, 6-3
Finn Murgett (Aub) def. Bojan Jankulovski (Mia) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Jan Galka (Aub) def. Dan Martin (Mia) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Oren Vasser (Mia) def. Raul Dobai (Aub) 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3
Will Nolan (Aub) def. Casper Christensen (Mia) 6-0, 6-2
Tad Maclean (Aub) def. Franco Aubone (Mia) 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1
Jackson Ross (Aub) def. Daniel Labrador (Clem) 6-4, 6-3
Spencer Gray (Aub) def. Max Smith (Clem) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
George Harwell (Vandy) def. Bojan Jankulovski (Mia) 6-2, 6-2
Marcus Ferriera (Vandy) def. Juan Martin Jalif (Mia) 7-5, 7-5
Joubert Klopper (Vandy) def. Oren Vasser (Mia) 6-2, 6-4
Dan Martin (Mia) def. Michael Ross (Vandy) 7-6 (6), 7-5
Franco Aubone (Mia) def. Connor Robb-Wilcox (Vandy) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
Casper Christensen (Mia) def. Max Freeman (Vandy) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Macsen Sisam (Vandy) def. Ilarion Danilchenko (Mia) 6-1, 6-3
Tyler Stice (Aub) def. Teodor Giusca (Clem) 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
Jorge Plans (Clem) def. Finn Murgett (Aub) 6-4, 6-7, 6-1
Jan Galka (Aub) def. Spencer Whitaker (Clem) 6-0, 6-3
Raul Dobai (Aub) def. Tim Pitts (Clem) 7-5, 6-3
Will Nolan (Aub) def. Andrew Puscas (Clem) 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1
Tad Maclean (Aub) def. Maxwell Smith (Clem) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Jackson Ross (Aub) def. Trey Stinchcomb (Clem) 6-3, 7-6 (5)
Spencer Gray (Aub) def. Daniel Labrador (Clem) 6-0, 6-0
