KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 18 Auburn men’s tennis defeated Tennessee in its second conference match of the season in dramatic fashion Friday evening, winning 4-3 at Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville. With the score tied at three, Auburn sophomore Hamza Nasridinov earned a three-set victory at the No. 1 singles position to deliver the victory for the Tigers.
“It’s good to get out of there with a win,” Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. “We didn’t play our best tennis, but we found a way to scrap and put ourselves in a position to be successful. We had six guys out there not giving up. A lot to learn, a lot to keep working on, and now we have to start realizing that we are the favorites in a lot of these matches, even when we are on the road. It’s a different pressure, different expectation and a different mindset when we step out on the court. We’ll get back to work and be ready for Mississippi State on Sunday.”
On the top doubles court, Auburn’s Billy and Freddy Blaydes and Tennessee’s Dragos Cazacu and Boruch Skierkier remained close early before the Blaydes brothers pulled away to win 6-4. At the No. 3 doubles position, Nasridinov and Jake Kennedy built an early 4-1 lead over Alejandro Moreno and Jan Kobierski before ultimately winning 6-4 to clinch the doubles point for the Tigers.
Each team won three opening sets in singles. Tennessee was the first to convert an opening-set win into a straight-set victory, claiming the No. 4 singles position to tie the score at one.
At No. 6 singles, Auburn’s Manel Lazaro and Tennessee’s Shion Itsusaki went back and forth in the first set before Lazaro earned a break with the set tied at five and went on to win it 7-5. Lazaro carried that momentum into the second set, winning 6-2 to claim his ninth dual-match singles win of the season and give Auburn a 2-1 lead.
Tennessee responded with a straight-set win at the No. 2 singles position, and the three remaining matches all went to third sets. Tennessee’s Dragos Cazacu came back after dropping the opening set to Auburn’s Nicholas Heng to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and give the Volunteers a 3-2 lead.
Auburn responded with a three-set win of its own at the No. 5 singles position. Alan Bojarski bounced back after dropping the first set with a 6-0 win in the second to set up a deciding third set. The Auburn freshman closed out the match 6-3 in the final set to tie the score at three.
With a 5-4 lead in the opening set, Nasridinov earned a break over Moreno to take the first set 6-4. Moreno responded by winning the second set 6-3 to force a third. The Auburn sophomore then prevailed 6-4 in the final set to clinch the victory.
The win improves Auburn’s record to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. It also marks the Tigers’ first road victory over the Volunteers since 2003.
Up next, Auburn returns home to face No. 5 Mississippi State at noon CT and Eastern Kentucky at 5 p.m. CT at the Yarbrough Tennis Center on Sunday. Fans in attendance at the first match will receive free Auburn men’s tennis buttons while supplies last. More fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
Live video and live scoring of both matches will be available at AuburnTigers.com.
#18 Auburn 4, Tennessee 3
Singles Results:
- #56 Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) def. #58 Alejandro Moreno (TENN) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
- Jose Garcia (TENN) def. #86 Billy Blaydes (AUB) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
- Dragos Cazacu (TENN) def. Nicholas Heng (AUB) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
- Jan Kobierski (TENN) def. Freddy Blaydes (AUB) 6-4, 6-2
- Alan Bojarski (AUB) def. Boruch Skierkier (TENN) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
- Manel Lazaro (AUB) def. Shion Itsusaki (TENN) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles Results:
- #20 Freddy Blaydes/Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Dragos Cazacu/Boruch Skierkier (TENN) 6-4
- Piotr Siekanowicz/Shion Itsusaki (TENN) vs. Nicholas Heng/Joey Phillips (AUB) 5-5, unfinished
- Jake Kennedy/Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) def. Alejandro Moreno/Jan Kobierski (TENN) 6-4
Time of match: 3:40 Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3; Singles: 4,6,2,3,5,1