STARKVILLE, Miss. – The first road conference match of the season did not go Auburn's way on Thursday afternoon, falling 4-3 at No. 18 Mississippi State in a close match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
Auburn got off to a very hot start as Finn Murgett and Raul Dobai jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on court one. The 33rd ranked Murgett and Dobai went on to upset Carles Hernandez and Nemanja Malesevic, the 26th ranked doubles team in the nation, by a 6-2 score.
Jan Galka and Billy Blaydes were not far behind their teammates, as they defeated Petar Jovanovic and Patrick Lazo by the same score on court two. The victory gives Galka and Blaydes a team-best eight doubles wins together.
Singles did not start off well for Auburn, as freshman Billy Blaydes was the lone Tiger able to claim the first set. Blaydes went on to defeat Michal Novansky on court six in two sets by a 6-4, 6-1 score to claim his sixth straight singles victory.
The Bulldogs then claimed two set wins on courts four and five to tie the match at two and swing the momentum back in their direction. Auburn kept fighting as Stice and Murgett each forced a third set on courts one and two, respectively.
After dropping his first set, freshman Alejandro Moreno and No. 89 Carles Hernandez played a tight second set that was forced into a tiebreaker. Moreno ultimately lost the tiebreaker and the match by a 6-3, 7-6 (1) score. Now down 3-2, Auburn needed to win both remaining matches on courts one and two to claim a team victory.
Murgett was able to pick up his 16th singles win and ninth dual singles win of the season by claiming the third set over Petar Jovanovic for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory to tie the match again.
In a winner-take-all third set on court one, Stice nearly forced a tiebreaker but fell 7-5 in the third set. Mississippi State's Malesevic won the closely contested match 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 to claim the team victory for the Bulldogs 4-3.
The win improves Mississippi State's overall record to 13-2 and their conference record to 2-1. With the loss, Auburn now holds a 11-4 overall record and a 1-2 record in conference play.
Up next, the Tigers will get a break from Southeastern Conference opponents and face No. 41 Tulane in New Orleans. That match is scheduled to begin at noon CT at the City Park Tennis Center. Live scoring of the match will be available at ioncourt.com.
#18 Mississippi State 4, #15 Auburn 3
Singles results:
1. #125 Nemanja Malesevic (MS) def. #124 Tyler Stice (AUB) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
2. Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Petar Jovanovic (MS) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. #89 Carles Hernandez (MS) def. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
4. Ewen Lumsden (MS) def. Jan Galka (AUB) 6-2, 6-4
5. B. Sanchez Martinez (MS) def. Raul Dobai (AUB) 6-4, 6-4
6. Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Michal Novansky (MS) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles results:
1. #33 Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AUB) def. #26 Carles Hernandez/Nemanja Malesevic (MS) 6-2
2. Billy Blaydes/Jan Galka (AUB) def. Petar Jovanovic/Patrick Lazo (MS) 6-2
3. Ewen Lumsden/B. Sanchez Martinez (MS) vs. Alejandro Moreno/Tyler Stice (AUB) 3-4, unfinished
Time of match- 2:50, Order of finish: Doubles:1,2; Singles: 4,6,5,3,2,1; Official: Wes Mayfield
