AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn men's tennis fought back from dropping five first sets in singles to earn its highest ranked win of the season, defeating No. 11 Texas A&M 5-2 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Tigers (16-9, 6-5 SEC) pushed three of those matches to third sets, winning all three to secure their sixth SEC victory of the season in front of an enthusiastic crowd on a warm, breezy Friday afternoon.
"It was great," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "The atmosphere was amazing. I felt like we played really good doubles at one, two and three. I told the guys afterward, win or lose that point, I felt like we had so many opportunities, and that's what we want. To have those opportunities, just keep coming and do it again and again. Over the length of time, you're going to be successful if you keep coming.
"In singles, we came out a little slow and dug ourselves a little bit of a hole. But then in the end, we made some adjustments, especially on Finn's court, and it looked like Tyler made some adjustments on court one. Then you just start digging, start putting pieces together to give yourself a chance in the third. Ultimately, to flip the top three courts and still close out at six, I couldn't be happier for the guys."
Finn Murgett provided the clinching point. After dropping the first set 6-2, he bounced back in a big way to win set two 6-1. Then, after A&M's 37th-ranked J.C. Roddick withstood two Murgett service games to force a tiebreaker, Murgett won four straight points in the breaker to close out the match and clinch the team victory, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3).
Shortly after Murgett closed out his match, Tyler Stice provided an exclamation point as he finished off a come-from-behind victory of his own, defeating No. 22 Raphael Perot at the top singles spot, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, to finish off the day.
After Texas A&M won on courts 4 and 5 to take a 2-1 lead, Raul Dobai tied things up as he finished off a three-set win over Tiago Pires on court six, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
Just moments later, Billy Blaydes put Auburn back in front 3-2 with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win on court 3, defeating the Aggies' Giulio Perego in come-from-behind fashion.
Auburn took an early lead in doubles. The team of Blaydes and Nick Heng got things off to a fast start with a 6-1 win on court 3, then Dobai and Murgett picked up a top-15 win, taking 15th-ranked Perego and Tokac to a tiebreaker where they sprinted to a 7-6 (7-0) win to clinch the point and a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers' win avenged an earlier non-conference loss to the Aggies in the ITA Kickoff in January.
Auburn will close out the regular season Sunday afternoon as they take on LSU at noon. Sunday's match will be Senior Day as Raul Dobai, Tyler Stice and Finn Murgett will be recognized in a post-match ceremony. Admission to all home matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center is free.
#26 Auburn 5, #11 Texas A&M 2
Singles
1. #41 Tyler Stice (AU) def. #22 Raphael Perot (TAMU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. #98 Finn Murgett (AU) def. #37 JC Roddick (TAMU), 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3)
3. Billy Blaydes (AU) def. Giulio Perego (TAMU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Togan Tokic (TAMU) def. Alejandro Moreno (AU), 6-1, 6-3
5. Luke Casper (TAMU) def. Nick Heng (AU), 7-6 (6), 6-2
6. Raul Dobai (AU) def. Tiago Pires (TAMU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 5, 6, 3, 2, 1
Doubles
1. #23 Dobai/Murgett (AU) def. #15 Perego/Tokac (TAMU), 7-6 (0)
2. Nolan/Stice (AU) vs. Skrobareck/Roddick (TAMU), 5-5 unfinished
3. Blaydes/Heng (AU) def. Pires/Perot (TAMU), 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1