NORFOLK, Va. – Auburn men's tennis recorded their first dual match road victory of the 2023 season on Friday with a 5-2 win over Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia. The win improves the Tigers' record to 6-2.
"Glad to get the win today," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said after his team's win. "We battled through some ups and downs on the doubles court, but ultimately found our concentration and confidence late in the match to solidify the doubles point.
"We came out great in singles and put ourselves in a position to be successful quickly on many positions with first set wins. We tripped over some hurdles solidifying leads, sets and matches and that's where we need to understand and learn so we can minimize those occurrences in the future. We have grown in the ability to get a great team win on the road against a very talented and well coached ODU team. This is a NCAA tournament team that we just beat on the road on a short week and tough travel."
Auburn set the tone early by taking the doubles point over the Monarchs. Tyler Stice and Alejandro Moreno dropped their doubles match on court three early, but Jan Galka and Billy Blaydes won their match 6-2 on court two which left the doubles point up to court one.
Finn Murgett and Raul Dobai then won a close match on court one over Younes Lalami and Brandon Perez, the 36th ranked doubles team in the nation, by a 6-4 score to claim the doubles point for the Tigers. The match victory marked the first Auburn doubles win over a ranked doubles team of the 2023 season.
Galka got off to a quick lead by taking the first set over Jakob Cadonau 6-1. Dobai, Stice and Moreno also took the first sets in their respective matches. Dobai was the first Tiger to finish his match, as he took down Yanis Moundir in two sets on court six by a 6-3, 6-4 score. Moreno also won his match in two sets, defeating Francois Le Tallec 6-4, 6-2.
Stice ultimately clinched the Auburn victory after defeating Younes Lalami 7-6, 6-4 on court one which made the score 4-0 in favor of the Tigers.
After Stice clinched the team win, Murgett won his match over Cosme Rolland De Ravel 3-6, 7-6 (4), 1-0 (1).
Auburn will have a day of rest before being back in action against Wisconsin at home. That match will begin at noon CT at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Auburn 5, Old Dominion 2
Singles Results
1. #90 Tyler Stice (AUB) def. Younes Lalami (ODU-M) 7-6 (3), 6-4
2. Codie van Schalkwyk (ODU) def. Will Nolan (AUB) 7-6 (4), 4-6, 1-0 (8)
3. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) def. Francois Le Tallec (ODU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Finn Murgett (AUB) def. CosmeRollandDeRavel (ODU) 3-6, 7-6 (4), 1-0 (1)
5. Jakob Cadonau (ODU) def. Jan Galka (AUB) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
6. Raul Dobai (AUB) def. Yanis Moundir (ODU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles Results
1. Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AUB) def. #36 Younes Lalami/Brandon Perez (ODU) 6-4
2. Billy Blaydes/Jan Galka (AUB) def. Codie van Schalkwyk/Jakob Cadonau (ODU) 6-2
3. Francois Le Tallec/CosmeRollandDeRavel (ODU) def. Tyler Stice/Alejandro Moreno (AUB) 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles 3,2,1; Singles: 6,3,1,4,2,5
