STARKVILLE, Miss. – Auburn fell to No. 12 Mississippi State by a SCORE score on Saturday afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville, Mississippi.
After weather caused a short delay at the beginning of the match, the Bulldogs won each of the first three games at both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions. Mississippi State went on to claim victories in both matches to win the doubles point.
In singles, Mississippi State continued its momentum with a straight set singles win at the top singles position and on court five to take a 3-0 lead in the match.
On court six, Mississippi State’s Bryan Hernandez Cortes took an early lead in the opening set to claim it 6-1 over Auburn’s Jake Kennedy. The two went back-and-forth in the second set, but Hernandez Cortes won each of the next two games to win the set 6-4 and clinch the match win for the Bulldogs.
After the team win was decided, Mississippi State won another match in straight sets on court two before the Tigers salvaged the final two matches.
Auburn freshman Hamza Nasridinov split the first two sets with Dusan Milanovic which forced a 10-point tiebreaker instead of a full third set to decide the winner. Nasridinov won the tiebreaker 10-6 to give Auburn its second point.
At the No. 3 singles position, Billy Blaydes of Auburn continued his impressive play with a ranked win over No. 102 Mario Martinez Serrano. The tight first set was decided in a tiebreaker, which Blaydes won 7-5. Blaydes then took that momentum into his second set where he won three of the first four games before claiming the match 7-6 (5), 6-4.
The loss drops the Tigers’ record to 16-9 overall and 6-7 in conference play this season.
Up next, Auburn will stay on the road for the final regular season weekend in Louisiana. The team will face Tulane on Friday at 1 p.m. CT and LSU on April 3.
#12 Mississippi State 5, #29 Auburn 2
Singles Results:
- #50 B. Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Will Nolan (AUB) 6-1, 6-0
- #67 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. #57 Alex Frusina (AUB) 6-4, 7-5
- Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. #102 M. Martinez Serrano (MSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
- Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) def. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)
- R. Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) def. Joey Phillips (AUB) 6-2, 6-1
- B. Hernandez Cortes (MSU) def. Jake Kennedy (AUB) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles Results:
- #2 Petar Jovanovic/B. Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. #13 Billy Blaydes/Will Nolan (AUB) 6-2
- Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Alex Frusina/Joey Phillips (AUB) 6-2
- B. Hernandez Cortes/M. Martinez Serrano (MSU) vs. Jake Kennedy/Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) 4-3, unfinished
Time of match: 3:00; Order of finish: Doubles: 2,1; Singles: 1,5,6,2,4; Official: Wes Mayfield