AUBURN, Ala. – No. 31 Auburn shut out both UAB and Mississippi Valley State during a home doubleheader on Tuesday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
"It was great to get a couple of matches in over spring break before we start another tough road trip to Tennessee and Georgia," said Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds. "I think from a doubles standpoint, there are still some areas that we need to work on like making adjustments during the match and being better when our opponents put us in a position of weakness. When we're at the net, I don't think we're quite ready all of the time. When we're in a position to be offensive, we have to be ready."
Alejandro Moreno and Billy Blaydes started the doubles point against the Blazers strong with a quick 6-2 victory on court two before UAB responded with a tiebreaker win to claim court three. With the match tied at five, Finn Murgett and Raul Dobai won the final two games on court one to claim their fourth dual match win of the season to win the doubles point.
The Tigers won the opening set on all six courts to start singles. Murgett came back from dropping the first three games to win the opening set against Carlos Gimenez Perez and Alejandro Moreno came back from an early 2-1 deficit to pick up a first set win on court three.
Auburn then won court four by retirement to push its lead to 2-0 during the second set. Blaydes won his ninth dual singles win of the season in dominating fashion on court five, recording a 6-1, 6-0 win over Iker Dellien. Moments later, Will Nolan clinched the match win for the Tigers with a straight set win on court six.
After the match was clinched, Moreno and Stice finished off straight set wins on courts three and one, respectively. Gimenez Perez took another early set lead in the second set against Murgett, but the Auburn senior game back to take a 6-5 lead. The set went into a tiebreaker that Murgett won to finish the 7-0 shutout of the Blazers.
In the second match of the day, Auburn won a quick doubles point by claiming courts one and three against Mississippi Valley State. Nolan, Blaydes, Heng and Moreno each recorded a second singles win on Tuesday to deliver Auburn a 5-0 win over the Delta Devils.
The two victories improves the Tigers' record to 10-4 and pushes their winning streak to three matches.
Auburn will be on the road again to continue conference play, making stops at No. 9 Tennessee and No. 48 Georgia. Auburn will face Tennessee at 4 p.m. CT in Knoxville and will play Georgia at noon CT in Athens.
#35 Auburn 7, UAB 0
Singles Results:
1. #40 Tyler Stice (AUB) def. Vojtech Podzemny (UAB) 6-2, 6-3
2. #73 Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Carlos Gimenez Perez (UAB) 7-5, 7-6 (10-8)
3. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) def. Georgios Nouchakis (UAB) 7-5, 6-2
4. Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Ondrej Valek (UAB) 6-4, 3-0, retired
5. Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Iker Dellien (UAB) 6-1, 6-0
6. Will Nolan (AUB) def. Juan Pablo Valdez (UAB) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles Results:
1. Parker Bradbary/Georgios Nouchakis (UAB) def. Finn Murgett/Raul Dobai (AUB) 7-5
2. Alejandro Moreno/Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Chase Parker/Ondrej Valek (UAB) 6-2
3. Tyler Stice/Will Nolan (AUB) def. Carlos Gimenez Perez/Juan Pablo Valdez (UAB) 7-6 (7-3)
Time of match: 3:11; Order of finish: Doubles: 2,1,3; Singles: 4,5,6,1,3,2; Official: Donna Jerome
#35 Auburn 5, Mississippi Valley State 0
Singles Results:
1. #40 Tyler Stice (AUB) vs. Omar Emmons (MVSU) 6-0, 2-0, unfinished
2. #73 Finn Murgett (AUB) vs. Markwan Perkins (MVSU) 6-0, 3-0, unfinished
3. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) def. Michael Anthony (MVSU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Jayren Fox (MVSU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Amir Williams (MVSU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Will Nolan (AUB) def. Khalil James-Ware (MVSU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles Results:
1. Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Omar Emmons/Jayren Fox (MVSU) 6-0
2. Alejandro Moreno/Billy Blaydes (AUB) vs. Markwan Perkins/Michael Anthony (MVSU) 4-0, unfinished
3. Will Nolan/Tyler Stice (AUB) def. Amir Williams/Khalil James-Ware (MVSU) 6-0
Time of match: 0:33; Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3; Singles: 6,5,4,3; Official: Donna Jerome
