MADISON, Wis. – Auburn began its weekend road trip with a 5-2 match win over Wisconsin on Friday evening at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. After dropping the doubles point, the Tigers claimed four singles wins and the match victory.
"It's great to find a way and get the win when we aren't playing our best tennis." Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said after the match. "The guys dug deep, grinding their way out of holes and ultimately gave themselves a chance to close out matches. We have to be more aggressive with our doubles and not allow our opponents to take control of the net."
Auburn began the doubles point with a match win already on the board, as Wisconsin lost court three by walkover due to not having enough players available to fill all three courts. The top Tiger doubles team of Raul Dobai and Finn Murgett began their match strong with a 3-1 lead. Matthew Fullerton and Michael Minasyan fought back to tie the match at three and eventually claim the match 6-4.
After being down 5-3 at one point during the match on court two, Billy Blaydes and Will Nolan came back to force a tiebreaker, but dropped the tiebreaker to allow the Badgers to claim the doubles point.
In singles, the Tigers again began with an advantage, as a walkover win on court six tied the match 1-1 before the first serve in any singles matches occurred. Dobai, Tyler Stice and Alejandro Moreno each earned opening set victories to put Auburn in a good position to clinch the match quickly.
Dobai became the first player to finish, dominating Tomas Zlatohlavek 6-2, 6-1 to claim his team-best 12th singles victory of the season and give Auburn the lead. With his second set tied at three on court one, Stice pulled away from Minasyan for a straight-set victory of his own by a 6-4, 6-4 score to put the Tigers one match win away from victory.
Raul Dobai gets Auburn on the board with a straight set win on court ✌️#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/bt3vPTw8CR
— Auburn Men's Tennis (@AuburnMTennis) February 10, 2024
Murgett and Blaydes each earned one-sided second set victories to force their respective matches into a third set while Moreno dropped his second set. Blaydes began his third set down 2-1, but came back to tie the set 3-3 and never looked back. His 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win allowed him to remain perfect in dual singles matches this spring at 4-0 and clinched the team victory for the Tigers.
After the team victory was secured, Murgett earned a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory on court three while Moreno dropped his match on court four to make the final score 5-2.
Victory scream 🗣️
— Auburn Men's Tennis (@AuburnMTennis) February 10, 2024
Finn Murgett clinches a team victory with a thrilling win on court three 💪
Tyler Stice and Billy Blaydes also with match wins for the Tigers 🐅#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/lkRsUD7z3r
The match win improves Auburn's record to 4-1, while Wisconsin remains winless this season at 0-7.
Up next, the Tigers will make the trip to South Bend, Indiana, to battle Notre Dame on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. Live video and live scoring will be available online at fightingirish.com.
Auburn 5, Wisconsin 2
Singles Results:
1. #84 Tyler Stice (AUB) def. Michael Minasyan (Wisc) 6-4, 6-4
2. #105 Raul Dobai (AUB) def. Tomas Zlatohlavek (Wisc) 6-2, 6-1
3. Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Matthew Fullerton (Wisc) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
4. Collin Beduhn (Wisc) def. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
5. Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Oliver Olsson (Wisc) 4-6, 6-3 6-3
6. Nicholas Heng (AUB) wins by walkover
Doubles Results:
1. Matthew Fullerton/Michael Minasyan (WISC) def. Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AUB) 6-4
2. Oliver Olsson/Tomas Zlatohlavek (WISC) def. Billy Blaydes/Will Nolan (AUB) 7-6 (4)
3. Nicholas Heng/Tyler Stice (AUB) wins by walkover