No. 28 Auburn downed another ranked SEC opponent on the road in men's tennis Friday as the Tigers were 6-1 winners at No. 39 Ole Miss at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center in Oxford.
"It's not easy getting road wins in the SEC, but our guys came ready to play with the focus and intensity like it was a home match," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "We are halfway through the conference schedule and this team is growing in confidence and it's showing in their tennis games."
Again, doubles were a strong starter for the Tigers. Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett, ranked No. 60 this week, upset No. 12-ranked Lukas Engelhardt and Finn Reynolds of Ole Miss by a convincing 6-2 score. The Rebels were 6-2 winners on court three, but for the fourth time in SEC play, Jan Galka and Tyler Stice clinched the doubles point for Auburn, with a 6-4 victory over Simon Junk and Jan Soren Hain; that was Galka's 50th doubles win of his college career.
Freshman Will Nolan started singles with momentum, posting a quick 6-3, 6-1 victory over Simon Junk on court five, Nolan's second consecutive SEC win. Senior Tad Maclean followed up with a three-set win over John Hallquist Lithen on court three by a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 score, and then Raul Dobai and Jan Galka, after winning their first sets, each saw his match extend to a second-set tiebreaker.
Dobai finished first, defeating Lukas Engelhardt 6-4, 7-6 (4) to clinch the victory for the Tigers. Galka and Finn Murgett posted wins after the match was clinched.
Auburn is now 15-4 for the spring season, 4-2 in SEC play; Ole Miss is 11-8 overall and 1-5 in conference action.
The Tigers' next home action is Friday, April 1, hosting No. 33 Mississippi State at 3 p.m. that day. All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (1717 Richland Road, Auburn) and admission is free.
#28 Auburn 6, #39 Ole Miss 1
Singles
#36 Nikola Slavic (UM) def. #91 Tyler Stice (AU) 6-3, 6-3
#115 Jan Galka (AU) def. #110 Finn Reynolds (UM)7-6 (4), 7-6 (5)
#111 Tad Maclean (AU) def. John Hallquist Lithen (UM) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
Raul Dobai (AU) def. Lukas Engelhardt (UM) 6-4, 7-6 (4)
Will Nolan (AU) def. Simon Junk (UM) 6-3, 6-1
Finn Murgett (AU) def. Jan Soren Hain (UM) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Doubles
#60 Maclean/Murgett (AU) def. #12 Reynolds/Engelhardt (UM) 6-2
Galka/Stice (AU) def. Soren Hain/Junk (UM) 6-4
Slavic/Lithen (UM) def. Dobai/Josh Raab (AU) 6-2
Time of match: 2:50; Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3,2; Singles: 5,1,3,4,2,6