All-Americans Finn Murgett and Tad Maclean opened their doubles play with a three-set tiebreak win Wednesday in the main draw of the men's ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
Murgett and Maclean, the 2021 NCAA doubles finalists ranked No. 7 in the preseason, began main draw play in a tight match with No. 23 Georgia's Trent Bryde and Blake Crowder. The Bulldogs took the first set 6-3, before Murgett and Maclean found their stride and tied up the match with a 7-5 second stanza.
In the third-set tiebreaker, the Tiger tandem took a 4-2 lead, and the teams traded points until a tie at 9-9, when the Auburn duo forged ahead for an 11-9 victory to win the match.
"We were able to sneak the win out this afternoon," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "We are making matches more difficult on ourselves by not taking care of the basics. We are playing timidly when offensive opportunities present themselves and then out of control when we should be playing high-percentage tennis. Every one of these players are at the top of college tennis and the smallest of margins make the difference between winning and losing.
"Tomorrow gives us another chance to right the wrongs created today and to grow individually from another day of competition."
Earlier Wednesday, Maclean's singles run came to a stop in the Round of 64. After three straight qualifying wins, Maclean fell short 6-2, 6-2 facing No. 15 Philip Henning of Georgia.
Tyler Stice, ranked No. 19 nationally, also fell short in the singles main draw Round of 64. Stice took his his first set against Filippo Moroni of Wake Forest by a 6-4 count, but Moroni captured the second set 6-2 to force a third set. Moroni was the victor in that deciding set by a 6-4 score. Stice and Maclean will continue play in the consolation bracket.
The event finals are scheduled for Sunday, with winners advancing to the national fall championships in San Diego in November. All matches are being played at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa and Case Tennis Center at LaFortune Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Friday, five Tigers – Raul Dobai, Jan Galka, Spencer Gray, Jackson Ross and Will Nolan – will be in action at the Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Ga.
Participants from Auburn, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, UNC Charlotte, UMC Wilmington, Georgia State, Furman, Georgia Tech, Miami and host Georgia make up the field for the four 16-player compass draws. Play begins each day at 9 a.m. ET; the schedule includes two rounds of doubles and one round of singles Friday, two rounds of singles and one round of doubles Saturday and one round each of singles and doubles on Sunday.
