AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn men's tennis opened the 2023 spring season with a pair of wins in a home doubleheader Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The No. 24 Tigers defeated Michigan State 4-3 and Alabama State 7-0 in the season openers.
"I think coming out of break it was important to get a lot of matches early so we could shake off some of those nerves and emotion that college tennis entails," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said of the opening matches. "There's a lot of Xs and Os that we could have done a lot better, but the wins are good. We'll continue to look at this next week and the week after before we go to ITA Kickoff but we've got to be better."
Speaking about the performance of newcomers Alejandro Moreno and Billy Blaydes, Reynolds saw an optimistic debut. "When they're going on all cylinders, they're great tennis players. I think we're still hesitant to take the opportunities when they present themselves and hoping for a mistake from the opponent. It doesn't matter whether you're playing Michigan State or Alabama State or any of the teams we play, you're playing the ball, right? Even if the ball falls short, you've got to be willing and feel comfortable stepping up and being aggressive. That's our goal."
Against the Spartans, the doubles point was decided on court two, where veteran Jan Galka and freshman Billy Blaydes, playing in his first Auburn match, fought off Reed Crocker and David Saye after a 3-3 tie for a 6-3 victory.
On court three, two-time all-SEC first teamer Tyler Stice and Alejandro Moreno shut out MSU's Graydon Lair and Kazuki Matsuno by a 6-0 score to start the action; Michigan State was a 6-1 winner on court one.
In singles, the Tigers got first-set wins from Will Nolan on court two, Finn Murgett on court four, Raul Dobai in a 7-4 tiebreaker on court five and Jan Galka on court six. Galka came through with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Matsuno to give the Tigers their first singles point of the season and a 2-1 lead, and Raul Dobai posted a 7-6, 6-1 win on court five over Graydon Lair to push the Auburn lead to 3-1.
All-American Finn Murgett clinched the team victory with a 7-5, 6-0 win over David Saye playing on court four, giving the Tigers a 4-1 lead at that point in the match. Michigan State posted singles wins on court one, three and two, the last two after the team match was decided.
In the evening match against Alabama State, Auburn dominated in doubles. Galka paired with Moreno combined for a 6-0 shutout of Ruan DuPreez and Juan Rodriguez on court two, and Blaydes and Nolan clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 victory over Matis Amier and Alexandre Verlaguet on court three.
The Tigers remained strong in singles action, getting straight-set wins on courts four through six. On four, Galka was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Amier, and Spencer Gray on six won 6-3, 6-3 over Verlaguet. The team win was clinched by Billy Blaydes, who was a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Kristofer Johnson on court five.
After the team win was clinched, the remaining three matches were decided by third-set 10-point tiebreakers. On court three, Alejandro Moreno was a 10-2 victor in his third set, coming from behind to defeat Sam Bajracharya 3-6, 6-2, 1-0. On court two, Will Nolan faced second- and third-set tiebreakers, prevailing in the final frame 10-7 to post the win. Tyler Stice completed the sweep with a 10-5 tiebreak win on court one over David Grandinot.
Auburn opens the season at 2-0. Michigan State is now 0-2, while Alabama State is 0-1.
Auburn returns to action Thursday hosting Samford in a 2 p.m. match at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (1717 Richland Road, Auburn). Admission is free.
#24 Auburn 4, Michigan State 3
Singles
#26 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. #66 Tyler Stice (AU) 6-4, 6-1
Max Sheldon (MSU) def. #110 Will Nolan (AU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
Anthony Pero (MSU) def. Alejandro Moreno (AU) 6-4, 6-3
Finn Murgett (AU) def. David Saye (MSU) 7-5, 6-0
Raul Dobai (AU) def. Graydon Lair (MSU) 7-6 (4), 6-1
Jan Galka (AU) def. Kazuki Matsuno (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
Baris/Sheldon (MSU) def. Murgett/Dobai (AU) 6-1
Galka/Billy Blaydes (AU) def. Reed Crocker/Saye (MSU) 6-3
Stice/Moreno (AU) def. Lair/Matsuno (MSU) 6-0
Time of match: 2:44; Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1,2; Singles: 1,6,5,4,3,2; Official: Donna Jerome
#24 Auburn 7, Alabama State 0
Singles
#66 Tyler Stice (AU) def. David Jeanne Grandinot (ASU) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5)
#110 Will Nolan (AU) def. Ruan DuPreez (ASU) 6-1, 6-7 (7-1), 1-0 (10-7)
Alejandro Moreno (AU) def. Sam Bajracharya (ASU) 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-2)
Jan Galka (AU) def. Matis Amier (ASU) 6-2, 6-2
Billy Blaydes (AU) def. Kristofer Johnson (ASU) 6-4, 6-2
Spencer Gray (AU) def. Alexandre Verlaguet (ASU) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
Finn Murgett/Raul Dobai (AU) v Barjracharya/Grandinot (ASU) 5-2 unfinished
Galka/Moreno (AU) def. DuPreez/Juan Rodriguez (ASU) 6-0
Nolan/Blaydes (AU) def. Amier/Verlaguet (ASU) 6-1
Time of match: 2:12; Order of finish: Doubles: 2,3; Singles: 4,6,5,3,2,1; Official: Donna Jerome