NORMAN, Okla. – No. 14 Auburn men’s tennis fell to 17th-ranked Oklahoma 5-2 on Friday evening at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Auburn won the doubles point but faltered in singles in the loss.
Auburn’s Jake Kennedy and Hamza Nasridinov started strong in doubles by defeating Johan Rodriguez and Asahi Harazaki 6-4 at the No. 3 position. Oklahoma’s Luis Alvarez and Bruno Nhavene, the 12th-ranked doubles team in the nation, took an early 3-1 lead over Auburn’s Billy and Freddy Blaydes on the top doubles court. Down 5-2 later in the match, the Blaydes brothers won each of the next five games to come back and win 7-5 and claim the doubles point for the Tigers.
Oklahoma then seized momentum in singles, winning the first set on five courts. Auburn’s Alan Bojarski came back from a 5-3 deficit in the opening set against Oklahoma’s Alejandro Melero by winning four straight games to take the set 7-5.
The Sooners then closed out straight-set victories at the No. 4 and No. 6 singles positions to take a 2-1 lead.
On the top singles court, Oklahoma’s Luis Alvarez earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Auburn’s Hamza Nasridinov to extend the Sooners’ lead to 3-1. Oklahoma’s Oscar Lacides took down Auburn’s Billy Blaydes 6-2 in the opening set. The two went back and forth early in the second set, but with the match tied at three in the set, Lacides won the next three games to secure a 6-2, 6-3 win and clinch the team victory for the Sooners.
After the match was decided, Bojarski bounced back from a second-set loss to defeat Melero 7-5, 4-6, [10-6], and Oklahoma claimed the final match at the No. 3 singles position.
The loss drops Auburn’s record to 14-4 overall this season and 4-3 in conference play. Up next, the Tigers will travel to Arkansas for a match Sunday. The match against the Razorbacks at the Billingsley Tennis Center will begin at noon CT. Live video and live scoring will be available at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
#17 Oklahoma 5, #14 Auburn 2
Singles Results:
- #34 Luis Alvarez (OU) def. #40 Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) 6-2 6-4
- #58 Oscar Lacides (OU) def. #76 Billy Blaydes (AUB) 6-2 6-3
- #86 Orel Kimhi (OU) def. Nicholas Heng (AUB) 6-4 3-6 [10-5]
- #108 Johan Rodriguez (OU) def. Freddy Blaydes (AUB) 6-0 6-1
- Alan Bojarski (AUB) def. Alejandro Melero (OU) 7-5 4-6 [10-6]
- Asahi Harazaki (OU) def. Manel Lazaro (AUB) 6-1 6-4
Doubles Results:
- #63 Billy Blaydes/Freddy Blaydes (AUB) def. #12 Luis Alvarez/Bruno Nhavene (OU) 7-5
- #37 Hank Trondson/Alejandro Melero (OU) vs. Nicholas Heng/Joey Phillips (AUB) 6-6 (2-5), unfinished
- Jake Kennedy/Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) def. Asahi Harazaki/Johan Rodriguez (OU) 6-4
Time of match: 3:00 Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1; Singles: 4,6,1,2,5,3