Men’s tennis downs Wisconsin 6-1

Men’s tennis downs Wisconsin 6-1Men’s tennis downs Wisconsin 6-1
Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn remained undefeated at home in men's tennis with a 6-1 non-conference win over Wisconsin Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
 
"I knew this weekend was going to be tough and that 6-1 win didn't come easily," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "To travel to Old Dominion on Wednesday, get a win there Friday and come back Friday night, and then face a tough Wisconsin team with unbelievable numbers – that's a challenge.
 
"Getting that doubles point really helped settle us down for singles. We were up in some matches and down in others but at the end of the day, we battled, and that's what we've got to continue to do. We got two wins on the weekend and now we get a short off stretch which will be good for the guys mentally, physically and emotionally. We'll be busy watching tape and we'll be moving outside for our matches, so we'll be working on that side of things."
 
The Tigers got off to a good start in doubles. On court one, Finn Murgett and Raul Dobai defeated their second ranked opponent in as many matches, topping the Badgers' No. 21-ranked tandem of Michael Monasyan and Gabriel Huber by a 6-3 score. Murgett and Dobai defeated No. 36 Lalami and Perez of Old Dominion on Friday.
 
Wisconsin picked up the doubles win on court three, leaving the competition on court two to decide the team point. The action was tied 4-4 before Auburn's Jan Galka and Billy Blaydes forged ahead to a 6-4 win over Jared Pratt and Jason Hildebrandt of UW, capturing the doubles point for Auburn for the seventh time this season.
 
Raul Dobai gave Auburn its first point in singles with a 6-3, 6-3 straight-set win over Michael Minasyan on court six. Alejandro Moreno followed up with a 7-5, 7-5 win on court two over UW's Mihailo Popovic to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
 

 
The remaining matches all went three sets. Jan Galka clinched the team win for Auburn with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Gabriel Huber on court five. After the team match was clinched, Finn Murgett posted a three-set win on court four, and Tyler Stice prevailed in a third-set tiebreaker 10-7 on court one.
 

 
Auburn is now 7-2 for the spring season and 6-0 at home. Wisconsin is now 5-3.
 
The Tigers return to action February 24-25 as part of the field at the 75th annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic in Montgomery.
 
Auburn returns home Thursday, March 2, to begin SEC action against No. 11 Tennessee at 3 p.m. at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (1717 Richland Road, Auburn). Admission is free.
 
Auburn 6, Wisconsin 1
 
Singles
#90 Tyler Stice (AU) def. Jared Pratt (UW) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7)
Jason Hildebrandt (UW) def. Will Nolan (AU) 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3
Alejandro Moreno (AU) def. Mihailo Popovic (UW) 7-5, 7-5
Finn Murgett (AU) def. Sebastian Vile (UW) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Jan Galka (AU) def. Gabriel Huber (UW) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Raul Dobai (AU) def. Michael Minasyan (UW) 6-3, 6-3
 
Doubles
Finn Murgett/Dobai (AU) def. #21 Minasyan/Huber (UW) 6-3
Galka/Billy Blaydes (AU) def. Pratt/Hildebrandt (UW) 6-4
Robin Parts/Vile (UW) def. Stice/Moreno (AU) 6-2
 
Time of match: 3:33; Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1,2; Singles: 6,3,5,4,1,2; Official: Donna Jerome