STILLWATER, Okla. – The Auburn doubles team of Finn Murgett and Raul Dobai picked up a victory in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championship at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Tuesday.
"It was a great all around doubles match," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said after the win. "Very slim margins between losing the first set, winning the second set and the breaker. We did a great job continually making the guys play on the return games. Need a little higher percentage on first serves if we want to go deep in the tournament but when Finn and Raul are clicking, they are one of the best teams in the country."
Murgett and Dobai, the 21st ranked doubles team in the nation, got off to a slow start against Columbia's Theo Winegar and Michael Zheng, the 16th ranked doubles team according to the ITA. With the first set tied at five, Winegar and Zheng won the next two games to claim the set. The second set also remained close early on, with the two duos trading games until the set was tied at three.
The Auburn pair then earned a break and won the next three consecutive games to force the match into a decisive 10-point tiebreaker. Murgett and Dobai won six of the first seven points in the tiebreaker and ultimately won it 10-5.
The Tiger duo will now face Robert Cash and JJ Tracy of Ohio State in the second round on Wednesday. If Murgett and Dobai are victorious in that match, they will automatically earn ITA Doubles All-American honors.
Prior to the doubles win, Murgett also took part in the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship, but fell to TCU's No. 7 Jake Fearnley in three sets. Murgett won the tight first set 6-4 before dropping the next two sets to exit the championship. Murgett finished the season with a 20-4 overall singles record this season and with the ninth-most singles victories in Auburn program history with 84.
Live coverage of the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships will be available on ESPN+ and live scoring will be available online at ioncourt.com.
NCAA Singles Championship Round of 32 Results:
#7 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #63 Finn Murgett (AUB) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
NCAA Doubles Championship Round of 32 Results:
#21 Finn Murgett/Raul Dobai (AUB) def. #16 Theo Winegar/Michael Zheng (COL) 5-7, 6-3, [10-5]
Murgett, Dobai claim opening round win at NCAA Doubles Championship
