March 9, 2007
The Auburn men's tennis team hammered Mississippi State, 5-2, on Friday at the Auburn Intramural Courts. The Tigers, 8-2, now stand at 2-1 in SEC play, while the Bulldogs, 3-6, add another loss to their previous three-match losing streak.
"I thought we had a good effort today. We had a lot of energy overall, which is encouraging for us," said Auburn head coach Eric Shore. "After Sunday's tough loss against Vanderbilt, we came back and played hard. Now we have to get ready for this Sunday. We're really going to have to step it up, but we're looking forward to the challenge."
The Tigers took the courts by storm in doubles play, earning a quick 1-0 lead. On court No.3, sophomore Lukas Marsoun and junior Pawel Dilaj swept the Bulldog's Ryan Farlow and Pjotrs Necajevs, 8-3. Senior Robbert Lathouwers and sophomore Alexey Tsyrenov fought hard in the No.2 match against Mississippi State's Edouard Benchetrit and Philippe Frayssinoux, but fell, 9-8, after losing the tiebreaker, 7-2.
Looking to regain their momentum, Auburn's No.1 doubles team, senior Alex Schweizer and junior Terence Nugent, battled it out against Ivan Bjelica and Artem Kuznetsov. Victory belonged to the Tigers when Schweizer and Nugent secured the doubles point, 8-4.
Auburn showed no signs of slowing down going into singles play. On the No.2 court, No.73 ranked Robbert Lathouwers wasted little time against the Bulldog's No.91 Philippe Frayssinoux, taking the win, 6-0, 6-4.
In the No.1 spot, Auburn's No.117 ranked Alex Schweizer gave up his match to Mississippi State's No.42 Ivan Bjelica, after retiring in the second set.
From that point on, the Bulldogs never stood a chance. Auburn's Lukas Maroun dominated on court No.5, defeating Edouard Benchetrit, 6-2, 6-2. Following close behind in match No.4, Pawel Dilaj beat Mississippi State's Artem Kuznetsov, 6-3, 6-4, ensuring another SEC win for the Auburn Tigers.
With the match locked in, the Bulldog's Ryan Farlow was easily taken in the No.5 spot by sophomore Milan Krnjetin, 6-4, 6-4. On the No.6 court, Alexey Tsyrenov carried the match out to a third set, only to fall short to Mississippit State's Pjotrs Necajevs, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
The Tigers will be on their home turf once again on Sunday, March 11 to take on the Ole Miss Rebels at 1:00 p.m. CT.
Singles
1. #42 Ivan Bjelica (MSU) def. #117 Alex Schweizer (AU) 6-2, retired
2. #73 Robbert Lathouwers (AU) def. #91 Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) 6-0, 6-4
3. Pjotrs Necajevs (MSU) def. Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
4. Pawel Dilaj (AU) def. Artem Kuznetsov (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Lukas Marsoun (AU) def. Edouard Benchetrit (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Milan Krnjetin (AU) def. Ryan Farlow (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. Terence Nugent/Alex Schweizer (AU) def. Ivan Bjelica/Artem Kuznetsov (MSU) 8-4
2. Edouard Benchetrit/Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) def. Robbert Lathouwers/Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) 9-8 (7-2)
3. Lukas Marsoun/Pawel Dilaj (AU) def. Ryan Farlow/Pjotrs Necajevs (MSU) 8-3