Tigers take down Ole Miss 4-3 in thriller at home

Box Score
Tigers take down Ole Miss 4-3 in thriller at homeTigers take down Ole Miss 4-3 in thriller at home
Abby Holbrook/Auburn Tigers

AUBURN, Ala. – Men’s tennis braced heavy wind gusts throughout the match to defend home court on Saturday, coming from behind to defeat Ole Miss by a 4-3 score with a spectacular ending at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama. The match concluded with a second set tiebreak win by Will Nolan and two comeback three set victories from Alex Frusina and Billy Blaydes just minutes apart.

“I just felt like we came out and we were slow in the doubles,” said Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds. “It was a doubles point that I felt going in that we had to win because they have not been that successful in doubles this year. I tried to fire them up and put some juices in their veins because I know we're playing on tired legs- we're in the middle of the SEC so just trying to get something out of them. Credit to these guys because they didn't go away. The conditions were really tough with the wind, match count, and all of the above. Credit to our guys for coming back out and being able to get four points in singles.”

Alex Frusina and Joey Phillips came out strong in doubles, claiming four of the first five games in their match against Benjamin Martin and Matthieu Chambonniere before coasting to a 6-3 victory. The other two doubles courts were ultimately decided in tiebreaks, as Auburn came back from a 4-1 deficit to force a tiebreaker on court one and Ole Miss came back from a 5-3 deficit to force a tiebreaker on court three. The Rebels prevailed in both tiebreakers to claim the doubles point.

Ole Miss continued their momentum early on in singles, claiming the opening set on four courts.

Auburn freshman Hamza Nasridinov looked strong at the No. 5 singles position, winning three-quarters of his return games and 64 percent of the total points played in his match against Benjamin Martin. Nasridinov won his match 6-3, 6-2 over Benjamin Martin to tie the team score at one. Ole Miss then responded with a straight set won of its own at the No. 6 singles position to regain the lead 2-1.

After dropping the first set, Phillips forced a tiebreaker in his second set against Loan Lestir, but lost 7-5 in the tiebreaker to fall in the match. Lestir’s win gave the Rebels a 3-1 lead at the time.

After clinching the match against Oklahoma on Thursday, senior captain Will Nolan played in another crucial match on the top doubles court again on Saturday. Nolan turned an early opening set lead over Noah Schlagenhauf into a 6-3 first set win. The second set was much closer between the two and ultimately was decided in a tiebreaker. Shortly after strong wind gusts caused a debris delay on his court during the tiebreaker, Nolan prevailed 7-5 to win the match and regain the momentum for the Tigers.

Just moments later, Frusina tied the match at three with a win at the No. 2 singles position. With the first set tied at three, Marcel Kamrowski earned a crutial break to claim the opening set over Frusina. The Auburn freshman then bounced back by only allowing one game in the second set to force a third set. Frusina kept that momentum from his second set, earning two early breaks to take a 4-1 lead before ultimately winning the set 6-1. With the match tied at three, the Tigers needed to get a win from Blaydes at the No. 3 singles position in order to claim a team victory.

Ole Miss’ Isac Stromberg dominated the first set against Blaydes, but the Auburn junior fought back by winning the final four consecutive games in the second set to force a third. In a tightly contested pivotal third set, Blaydes broke to 15 in the final game of the set to win the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to clinch the Tigers’ win and incite a celebration on the court with his teammates.

The win improved Auburn’s record to 13-6 overall this season and 4-4 in conference play. The Tigers have also won three in a row and will look to remain undefeated at home on Friday afternoon, as they host Kentucky at 3 p.m. CT. Live video and live scoring of the match will be available online at AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Tigers app.

 

#39 Auburn 4, #41 Ole Miss 3

Singles Results:

  1. Will Nolan (AUB) def. Noah Schlagenhauf (OM-M) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
  2. Alex Frusina (AUB) def. Marcel Kamrowski (OM-M) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
  3. Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Isac Stromberg (OM-M) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
  4. Loan Lestir (OM-M) def. Joey Phillips (AUB) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
  5. Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) def. Benjamin Martin (OM-M) 6-3, 6-2
  6. M. Chambonniere (OM-M) def. Nicholas Heng (AUB) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles Results:

  1. Isac Stromberg/Kai Milburn (OM-M) def. #13 Billy Blaydes/Will Nolan (AUB) 7-6 (7-5)
  2. Alex Frusina/Joey Phillips (AUB) def. Benjamin Martin/M. Chambonniere (OM-M) 6-3
  3. Noah Schlagenhauf/Loan Lestir (OM-M) def. Nicholas Heng/Thomas Kennedy (AUB) 7-6 (7-3)

 

Time of match: 3:17; Order of finish: Doubles: 2,1,3; Singles: 5,6,4,2,1,3; Official: Donna Jerome