Auburn's Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett couldn't capture a third-set tiebreaker, falling 7-5, 6-4, 1-0 to No. 33 Charles and Maxcense Bertimon of VCU in the NCAA doubles championship quarterfinals Thursday at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Ill.
"I couldn't be more proud of Tad and Finn for what they have accomplished the past two years," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "They have shown in their doubles results that they are one of the best pairings in college tennis. Unfortunately, Finn wasn't able to compete at 100% with an injury, but he showed his guts and fight in doing anything possible to advance. These guys will forever be part of a long list of Auburn tennis greats."
In a nip-and-tuck first set, again played in a steady wind, Murgett and Maclean took a lead at 5-3 but were unable to sustain that advantage and VCU took the first period by a 7-5 margin.
Auburn came out strong in the second set, posting a 5-1 lead, but the VCU duo found its footing before Murgett and Maclean prevailed by a 6-4 score.
In NCAA tournament play, a 10-point match tiebreaker takes the place of a third set, so 1:35 into the match, that extra stanza commenced. Murgett and Maclean jumped out to a 3-0 advantage, but the Bertimons won the next six points and eventually won the tiebreaker 10-6, giving them a berth in Friday's semifinals against No. 4 Cleeve Harper and Richard Ciamarra of Texas.
Ironically, the Bertimon brothers won a tiebreaker 7-2 to defeat Murgett and Maclean in the first round of the Blue Gray Classic at Montgomery in February.
All-Americans for the second straight year, the British Tiger tandem of Murgett and Maclean, ranked No. 6 nationally, finished with a 20-6 overall record this spring.
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. Final individual rankings will be released June 2.
