FORT MYERS, Fla. – Auburn defeated FGCU twice on Sunday by scores of 4-1 and 4-0 at the FGCU Tennis Complex in Fort Myers, Florida. The doubleheader sweep improved the Tigers’ record to 7-2 this season and extended their winning streak to five matches.
"We had a great weekend of matches, training and acclimation to the weather," said Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds. "It was important to get a lot of hours on the court prior to opening up SEC play next week."
Will Nolan and Billy Blaydes jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Hugo Magnusson and Christopher Smith on the top doubles court before winning 6-3. FGCU came out strong on the other two doubles courts, winning both to claim the doubles point.
In singles, Auburn freshman Mats Bredschneijder dominated at the No. 5 singles position to tie the match at one. Bredschneijder shut out Ninad Raut in the opening set then won six consecutive games to close out his second set to win 6-0, 6-1 in a match that lasted under an hour.
Another Auburn freshman, Hamza Nasridinov, came back from trailing 3-1 in the opening set to Pablo Paternostro before coming back to win 6-4. Nasridinov then took that momentum into the second set and won the match 6-4, 6-1. A few moments later, Billy Blaydes claimed a straight set win of his own on court two and gave the Tigers a 3-1 advantage in the match.
Nicholas Heng and Christopher Smith went back-and-forth in the first set on court six, which ultimately went into a tiebreaker. The Auburn redshirt sophomore eventually prevailed in a lengthy tiebreaker 11-9. Heng kept the momentum going from the tiebreaker by winning each of the first three games of the second set before claiming the set 6-2 to clinch the match win for the Tigers.
Auburn’s doubles looked much stronger in the afternoon match. Blaydes and Nolan won for the second time on Sunday by a 6-2 score over Jonathan Baron and Guglielmo Stefanacci. The top Auburn doubles team now holds an 18-3 overall record this season and is 6-0 in dual matches to start the spring.
Joey Phillips and Jake Kennedy pulled away late in their match against Paternostro and Smith to win 6-4 and clinch the doubles point for Auburn.
In singles, Blaydes picked up his second straight set win of the day on court two, defeating Paternostro 6-2, 6-2 in a quick match. Blaydes now holds a 12-10 overall singles record this season.
Heng dominated his first set against Smith 6-1 and jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the second set. Smith fought back to tie the set at four before Heng won the next two consecutive games to claim the match win in straight sets.
Bredscneijder then closed out his match against Stavros Hadjivarnava in dominant fashion by not allowing a game in the second set and won 6-2, 6-0. Nasridinov finished his match at the same time, defeating Raut 6-4, 6-1 for his second singles win of the day.
Up next, Auburn will open Southeastern Conference play on the road against Florida on Saturday at noon CT. Live video and scoring of the match from the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex will be available online at FloridaGators.com.
Auburn 4, FGCU 1
Singles Results:
- #120 Will Nolan (AUB) vs. Hugo Magnusson (FGCU) 5-7, 6-2, unfinished
- Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Jonathan Baron (FGCU) 6-1, 6-4
- Joey Phillips (AUB) vs. Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) 6-7 (2), 4-3, unfinished
- Hamza Nasriinov (AUB) def. Pablo Paternostro (FGCU) 6-4, 6-1
- Mats Bredschneijder (AUB) def. Ninad Raut (FGCU) 6-0, 6-1
- Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Christopher Smith (FGCU) 7-6 (9), 6-2
Doubles Results:
- #7 Billy Blaydes/Will Nolan (AUB) def. Hugo Magnusson/Christopher Smith (FGCU) 6-3
- Jonathan Baron/Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) def. Thomas Kennedy/Nicholas Heng (AUB) 7-6 (2)
- Harry Michalowski/Stavros Hadjivarnava (FGCU) def. Joey Phillips/Jake Kennedy (AUB) 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3,2; Singles: 5,4,2,6
Auburn 5, FGCU 0
Singles Results:
- #120 Will Nolan (AUB) vs. Jonathan Baron (FGCU) 6-1, 3-4, unfinished
- Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Pablo Paternostro (FGCU) 6-2, 6-2
- Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) def. Ninad Raut (FGCU) 6-4, 6-1
- Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Christopher Smith (FGCU) 6-1, 6-4
- Mats Bredschneijder (AUB) def. Stavros Hadjivarnava (FGCU) 6-2, 6-0
- Thomas Kennedy (AUB) vs. Harry Michalowski (FGCU) 5-7, 1-0, unfinished
Doubles Results:
- #7 Billy Blaydes/Will Nolan (AUB) def. Jonathan Baron/Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) 6-2
- Thomas Kennedy/Nicholas Heng (AUB) vs. Harry Michalowski/Stavros Hadjivarnava (FGCU) 4-3, unfinished
- Jake Kennedy/Joey Phillips (AUB) def. Christopher Smith/Pablo Paternostro (FGCU) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3; Singles: 2,4,5,3