The No. 24 Auburn men's tennis team remained undefeated with a pair of indoor wins Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, defeating Tulane 6-1 and Alabama State 4-0.
Against the Green Wave, the Tigers got a quick start in doubles. Auburn's top tandem of Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett blanked Tulane's Benji Jacobson and Charlie Barry 6-0, and Jan Galka and Tyler Stice followed up with a 6-3 win on court two over Fynn Kuenkler and Luc Hoeijmans to clinch the doubles point for Auburn.
Nationally ranked Jan Galka, playing on court two, gave Auburn its first singles point against Tulane, in a 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Billy Suarez, and Tad Maclean followed with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Alex Bancila on court three. Finn Murgett clinched the match for the Tigers with a 6-1, 6-3 victory on court five, and Tyler Stice and Will Nolan added wins for Auburn after the match was decided.
In the second match, Auburn won the doubles point against Alabama State, behind 6-3 wins by Will Nolan and Josh Raab on court three and Murgett and Maclean on court one.
The Tigers swept all six first sets and Galka was again first on the scoreboard with a 6-1, 6-1 win on court two over Ruan Du Preez. Jackson Ross, playing on court six, added a point for the Tigers with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Niila Magga, and Spencer Gray clincheds the match with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Matis Amier on court five. The remaining singles matches were abandoned after the match was clinched.
"We're clicking on all cylinders in doubles," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "I've challenged the guys to go the whole season without losing in doubles, because I have that much confidence in our doubles pairs and in our doubles play as a whole.
"In singles, at times we showed improvement; we won five matches in straight sets against Tulane, which was solid. We did a good job of coming out strong in first sets, and we were better emotionally when things did not go well. We let that frustration go and kept playing. In the end, we found ad way and that's going to pay off for us."
Auburn is now 8-0 for the spring season and ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since the 2013 campaign. Tulane is 2-3 and Alabama State is 0-3. The Tigers are back in action Friday at Middle Tennessee State.
#24 Auburn 6, Tulane 1
Singles
#95 Tyler Stice (AU) def. Luc Hoeijmans (TU) 6-4, 7-5
#84 Jan Galka (AU) def. Billy Suarez (TU) 6-2, 6-1
#85 Tad Maclean (AU) def. Alex Bancila (TU) 6-1, 6-3
Fynn Kuenkler (TU) def. Raul Dobai (AU) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5)
Finn Murgett (AU) def. Rafael de Alba (TU) 6-1, 6-3
Will Nolan (AU) def. Luka Petrovic (TU) 6-0, 7-6 (3)
Doubles
Murgett/Maclean (AU) def. Benji Jacobson/Charlie Barry (TU) 6-0
#44 Galka/Stice (AU) def. Kuenkler/Hoeijmans (TU) 6-3
Dobai/Maxwell Giddens (AU) v Suarez/de Alba (TU) 4-3 unfinished
Time of match: 2:23; Order of finish: Doubles: 1,2; Singles: 2,3,5,6,1,4; Official: Donna Jerome
#24 Auburn 4, Alabama State 0
Singles
#95 Tyler Stice (AU) v Chris Andre (ASU) 7-6 (3), 3-0 unfinished
#84 Jan Galka (AU) def. Ruan Du Preez (ASU) 6-1, 6-1
Will Nolan (AU) v Juan Rodriguez (ASU) 6-2, 4-2 unfinished
Josh Raab (AU) v Kristofer Johnson (ASU) 6-3, 5-2 unfinished
Spencer Gray (AU) def. Matis Amier (ASU) 6-2, 6-4
Jackson Ross (AU) def. Niila Magga (ASU) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
Murgett/Maclean (AU) def. Andre/Rodriguez (ASU) 6-3
Galka/Stice (AU) def. Du Preez/Sam Bajracharya (ASU) 6-4
Will Nolan/Josh Raab (AU) def. Amier/Johnson (ASU) 6-3
Time of match: 2:01; Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1,2; Singles: 2,6,5; Official: Donna Jerome