Auburn's Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett, the 2021 NCAA doubles runners-up, advanced to the 2022 NCAA quarterfinals with a decisive 6-1, 6-3 win over No. 69 Jamieson Nathan and Matej Panik of Montana State in the NCAA doubles championship Round of 16 Wednesday outdoors at the Khan Tennis Complex in Champaign, Ill.
"Tad and Finn really showed their maturity in handling the conditions this afternoon. Playing in winds of up to 30 mph is never easy, but these guys put the conditions aside and focused on the specifics," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said.
"We will continue to focus on what we can control, which is our tactics and our doubles DNA, and we'll take each day and match as they come. Earning All-America status back to back years in the tournament by advancing to the quarterfinals is a tough task, but Tad and Finn continue to play their best tennis late in the year."
The Tigers got off to an impressive start, taking a 3-0 lead and giving up only one point in those first three games, but blustery winds and approaching storms moved the teams indoors momentarily. After a short delay, the competitors returned to the outdoor courts, and Murgett and Maclean took the first set by a 6-1 score.
In the second set, the Bobcats kept it closer, with tie scores at one-, two- and three-all, but it was all Auburn from that point on, as Murgett and Maclean took the next three games, giving up only four points the rest of the match, to win the second set 6-3.
Thursday in the quarterfinals, Murgett and Maclean will face No. 33 Charles and Maxcense Bertimon of VCU, who defeated No. 28 Carl Emil Overbeck and Yula Kikuchi of Cal by a 7-6, 6-4 score.
All-Americans for the second straight year, the British Tiger tandem is ranked No. 6 nationally with a 20-5 overall record.
Live coverage of all competition is available on the TennisOne app. All matches in the individual championships are best-of-three sets. No-ad scoring and a 7-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) at six-games-all will be used for all matches. In doubles, a 10-point match tiebreaker will be played in lieu of a third set.
Auburn finished 21-11 as a team, Auburn's first 20-win season since 2002. After reaching the SEC tournament semifinals and the NCAA tournament second round, the Tigers are ranked No. 23 in the final ITA team ratings and No. 23 in the Tennis Channel/USTA Top 25.