OXFORD, Miss. – Auburn earned a 4-1 win during its SEC opening match on Friday afternoon against Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. The Tigers won its first doubles point in four matches and carried that momentum into singles.
"The guys came out with a mission to right the ship on the doubles court," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said after the match. "Practiced all week holding serve and we did a great job of doing that in doubles. They fought to the very end in the singles and being able to extend matches into the third sets helped with the momentum of the match. Glad to get out of Oxford with a win to start our SEC schedule."
Auburn came out hot in doubles, with Tyler Stice and Will Nolan earning their third consecutive doubles match on court three by a 6-2 score. Stice and Nolan took a 2-1 lead and coasted to the victory over Carson Baker and John Hallquist Lithen. With the match tied at three, Raul Dobai and Finn Murgett claimed the next three games against Nikola Slavic and Lukas Engelhardt to pick up the doubles point for the Tigers.
In singles, Auburn and Ole Miss split opening sets. Hallquist Lithen then evened the team score with a straight set victory over Dobai. The Tigers answered back with a straight set win of their own, as Billy Blaydes won in dominating fashion over Noah Schlagenhauf.
Billy Blaydes takes court 4️⃣ in straight sets 💪#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/lkOIgwfWD7
— Auburn Men's Tennis (@AuburnMTennis) March 1, 2024
The match remained tight, with the Tigers forcing a third set on courts one and five and the Rebels forcing a third set on courts three and six. The 2-1 Auburn lead held until Nicholas Heng mounted a third-set comeback to force a tiebreaker after trailing 4-2 in the set. Heng won the tiebreaker 7-2 and moved the Tigers to within one singles match win of a team victory.
Auburn was in good position after Heng's eighth dual singles win of the season, with third set advantages on both courts one and three. It was ultimately Alejandro Moreno, who had just dropped a competitive second set in a tiebreaker, that won his match on court three over Isac Stromberg 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-4 to clinch the team victory for the Tigers.
Alejandro Moreno clinches the dub for the Tigers 🏆#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/ICLW97zOac
— Auburn Men's Tennis (@AuburnMTennis) March 2, 2024
The win improves Auburn's record to 8-4 while the loss evens the Rebels' record at 5-5.
#31 Auburn 4, Ole Miss 1
Singles Results:
1. Nikola Slavic (OM) vs. #44 Tyler Stice (AUB) 6-3, 5-7, 3-5, unfinished
2. J. Hallquist Lithen (OM) def. Raul Dobai (AUB) 6-2, 6-3
3. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) def. Isac Stromberg (OM) 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4
4. Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) 6-3, 6-3
5. Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Lukas Engelhardt (OM) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
6. Carson Baker (OM) vs. Will Nolan (AUB) 5-7, 6-4, 4-2, unfinished
Doubles Results:
1. Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Nikola Slavic/Lukas Engelhardt (OM) 6-3
2. Isac Stromberg/Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) vs. Billy Blaydes/Alejandro Moreno (AUB) 3-5, unfinished
3. Tyler Stice/Will Nolan (AUB) def. Carson Baker/J. Hallquist Lithen (OM) 6-2
Time of match: 3:06; Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1; Singles: 2,4,5,3