AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn senior Will Nolan has been named SEC Player of the Week, the conference office announced on Wednesday. The Auburn senior came through in the clutch to deliver the Tigers to a couple of 4-3 conference victories during the weekend over No. 18 Oklahoma and Ole Miss.
With the match tied at three, the Oklahoma match was decided by Nolan on the top singles court. After winning the first set in a tiebreaker, Nolan and Lacides went back-and-forth in the second set that eventually led to another tiebreaker. Nolan faced multiple set points before ultimately prevailing in the tiebreaker to win the match 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6) to clinch the upset for the Tigers.
After clinching the match on Thursday, the senior captain 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.
On top of the two straight set singles wins, Nolan and doubles partner Billy Blaydes also delivered a ranked win over Oklahoma’s Oscar Lacides and Bruno Nhavene.
With the two singles victories, Nolan is now 13-8 overall this season and 6-5 in dual matches at the No. 1 position.
Wednesday’s honor marks the first weekly honor that Nolan has received from the SEC since being named SEC Freshman of the Week on Feb. 9, 2022.
Nolan and the Tigers will return to action on Thursday afternoon against Kentucky at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CT and coverage of the match will be available online at AuburnTigers.com.