No. 39 Auburn took No. 13 Kentucky to the wire in a 4-3 loss that lasted three and a half hours outdoors Friday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center in Lexington.
"We came out fighting and gave ourselves a chance to beat a top 10 team on the road. The difference between winning and losing in sports is so small, and we were two points away," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "Give credit to Kentucky with their emotions for not being overwhelmed with the situation.
"We will continue to put ourselves in the position to win, and that constant opportunity and belief in our game will make us stronger down the road. I'm proud of these guys and ready for another opportunity Sunday at Vandy."
Auburn made a statement early, winning the doubles point for the 14th time this spring. Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett were 6-3 victors on court one over Kentucky's Francois Musitelli and Millen Hurrion, but the Wildcats were 6-4 winners on court three.
That left the deciding match in the hands of Jan Galka and Tyler Stice on court two for the second straight match, and for the second straight match, they battled all the way through a tiebreaker and came out victorious, winning 7-6 (3) this time over Joshua Lapadat and J.J. Mercer to clinch the doubles point for the Tigers.
The singles slate was equally tight. Finn Murgett gave Auburn a 2-0 team lead with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Yasha Zemel on court six, and, although the Wildcats went up 3-2 with wins on courts four, one and two, Auburn freshman Will Nolan was a 7-6 (5), 6-2 winner over J.J. Mercer on court five to tie the team score at 3-3.
The deciding match was on court three, where Auburn's Raul Dobai took the first set 7-5 and Kentucky's Francois Musitelli took the second set by the same score. Musitelli, rated No. 60 nationally in singles, prevailed in the third set 6-2 to give Kentucky the 4-3 team win in the lengthy competition.
Auburn is now 13-4 for the spring season, 2-2 in SEC play and ranked No. 39 in the latest ITA team ratings. Kentucky is 12-4 overall and 3-1 in SEC action.
Maclean, with 64 career doubles wins, now ranks 10th all-time among Auburn career leaders in that category.
On Sunday, Auburn meets No. 29 Vanderbilt (10-4, 1-3 SEC) in a noon match at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville.
#13 Kentucky 4, #39 Auburn 3
Singles
Liam Draxl (UK) def. #83 Tyler Stice (AU) 6-4, 6-1
Millen Hurrion (UK) def. #124 Jan Galka (AU) 6-4, 6-4
#60 Francois Musitelli (UK) def. Raul Dobai (AU) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
#37 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. #110 Tad Maclean (AU) 6-1, 6-1
Will Nolan (AU) def. J.J. Mercer (UK) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
Finn Murgett (AU) def. Yasha Zemel (UK) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
Maclean/Murgett (AU) def. Musitelli/Hurrion (UK) 6-3
Galka/Stice (AU) def. Mercer/Lapadat (UK) 7-6 (7-3)
Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. Dobai/Josh Raab (AU) 6-4
Time of match: 3:35; Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3,2; Singles: 6,4,1,2,5,3