GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 18 men's tennis suffered a 6-1 loss against No. 22 Florida on Sunday afternoon in Gainesville, Florida. The Tigers split their weekend road trip after defeating No. 4 South Carolina on Friday.
In doubles, the top Auburn duo of Raul Dobai and Finn Murgett lost to Will Grant and Axel Nefve, the 29th ranked doubles team in the nation, by a 6-3 score. Billy Blaydes and Jan Galka dropped their match on court two, giving the doubles point to the Gators. Tyler Stice and Alejandro Moreno's match was in a tiebreaker when it was suspended.
In singles play, Blaydes won convincingly on court six over Togan Tokac by a 6-2, 6-2 score. The victory marked the freshman's 12th singles win of the season and improved his conference singles record to a perfect 6-0. That match tied the match at 1-1.
Will Nolan and Alejandro Moreno both lost their matches in two sets to give Florida a 3-1 advantage. On court four, Raul Dobai lost his first set 6-3 but won his next set 6-2 to force a third set. Florida's Nate Bonetto defeated Dobai 6-2 in the final set to claim the match as well as clinch the team victory for the Gators.
After losing the first set 6-3 on court two, Murgett fought back in his second set to force a tiebreaker, but ultimately lost the tiebreaker and the match. Tyler Stice forced his match into a third set against Axel Nefve, the 70th ranked singles player in the nation, but lost the match in the third set.
Up next, Auburn will be back at home for a doubleheader against Vanderbilt and Alabama A&M. The first match against Vanderbilt will begin at noon CT and the second match against Alabama A&M is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. CT. Both matches will be played at the Yarbrough Tennis Center where admission is free. Live video and live scoring of both matches will be available online at AuburnTigers.com.
#22 Florida 6, #18 Auburn 1
Singles results:
1. #70 Axel Nefve (UF) def. #110 Tyler Stice (AUB) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
2. #81 Will Grant (UF) def. Finn Murgett (AUB) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
3. #97 Jonah Braswell (UF) def. #107 Alejandro Moreno (AUB) 7-5, 6-2 4. Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Raul Dobai (AUB) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Will Nolan (AUB) 6-3, 6-2
6. Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Togan Tokac (UF) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles results:
1. #29 Will Grant/Axel Nefve (UF) def. #23 Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AUB) 6-3
2. Nate Bonetto/Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) def. Billy Blaydes/Jan Galka (AUB) 7-6 (8-6)
3. Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif (UF) vs. Alejandro Moreno/Tyler Stice (AUB) 6-6 (3-1), unfinished
Time of match: 3:23 Order of finish: Doubles: 1,2; Singles: 6,5,3,4,2,1
