March 8, 2008
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 23 Auburn men's tennis team (6-4, 2-1 SEC) suffered its first Southeastern Conference loss of the season Saturday as the Tigers fell to fifth-ranked Ole Miss (9-3, 2-1 SEC), 4-1, at the Gillom Sports Center in Oxford, Miss.
The match was originally scheduled for Friday afternoon but was postponed after a snow storm passing through Mississippi forced Ole Miss officials to cancel classes and all university events.
Auburn now travels to Starkville, Miss., for a 1 p.m., Sunday match at No. 49 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs (4-5, 0-3 SEC) are coming off a 4-0 loss to No. 21 Alabama on Friday.
For the Tigers, Saturday's match against No. 5 Ole Miss was their highest-ranked match of the season, topping the match earlier this season against No. 8 North Carolina. Even with the 4-1 loss, head coach Eric Shore said he was not disappointed in the team's performance and was actually encouraged by improvements made since playing the Tar Heels on Feb. 26.
"Overall, I thought we competed well today against a top-five team," said Shore. "We played better today than we did against North Carolina, another top 10 team, and I saw some positive things out of the guys. I think we are getting closer to where we need to be."
For only the second time this season Auburn failed to win the doubles point, taking the Rebels down to the wire in the final set.
The No. 5-ranked team of Erling Tveit and Jonas Berg downed Auburn's Tim Puetz and Lukas Marsoun, 8-3, in No. 2 doubles to take the early advantage. The Tigers evened it out in No. 3 doubles as the team of Alex Petropoulos and Milan Krnjetin defeated Tucker Vorster and Jakob Klaeson, 8-3.
With one doubles match remaining for the point, it was 10th-ranked Bram ten Berge and Matthias Wellermann sneaking out with the 8-6 win over Auburn's Alexey Tsyrenov and Terence Nugent to give Ole Miss the 1-0 lead.
Tsyrenov, ranked 89th in the nation in singles, bounced right back and evened the score as he defeated eighth-ranked Wellermann, 6-4, 6-4, in No. 1 singles.
Ole Miss reclaimed the lead in No. 2 singles as No. 18 Tveit defeated No. 114 Puetz, 6-3, 7-6 (4). The Rebels then took a 3-1 lead as No. 46 Robbye Poole went three sets with Marsoun in No. 3 singles, pulling out the 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win.
"Alexey continues to play well for us this season and has lost only one match all spring, said Shore. "He continues to play better tennis and improve. Tim lost his first match of the spring today, but he was right there in the end and that is very encouraging.
"The top of the singles lineup continues to play well for us and keep us in matches. I'm not disappointed at all, we need to get better to beat a team like that and I feel like we are getting closer."
One point away from the victory, it was Ole Miss' Norberg sealing the victory as he defeated Petropoulos, 6-3, 6-2 in No. 5 singles.
With the victory clinched for the Rebels, two matches were left unfinished. At the completion of play, Berg was leading Auburn's Terence Nugent, 6-4, 2-2 in No. 4 singles and Krnjetin was leading No. 113 ten Berge, 4-3, in No. 6 singles.
We need to come out tomorrow and finish the weekend with our best match of the season. We were right there in doubles, came down to no. 1, break point.
With the first half of the Mississippi road trip complete, the Tigers now turn their attention to Sunday's match against 49th-ranked Mississippi State.
"We are going to have to play well tomorrow," said Shore. "We know they are a good team and we have to come back with some intensity and be ready to play."
Tennis Match Results
Auburn vs Ole Miss
Mar 08, 2008 at Oxford, Miss.
#5 Ole Miss 4, #23 Auburn 1
Singles competition
1. #89 Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) def. #8 Matthias Wellermann (MISS) 6-4, 6-4
2. #18 Erling Tveit (MISS) def. #114 Tim Puetz (AU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
3. #46 Robbye Poole (MISS) def. Lukas Marsoun (AU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. Jonas Berg (MISS) vs. Terence Nugent (AU) 6-4, 2-2, unfinished
5. Kalle Norberg (MISS) def. Alex Petropoulos (AU) 6-3, 6-2
6. #113 Bram ten Berge (MISS) vs. Milan Krnjetin (AU) 3-4, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #10 Bram ten Berge/Matthias Wellermann (MISS) def. Alexey Tsyrenov/Terence Nugent (AU) 8-6
2. #5 Erling Tveit/Jonas Berg (MISS) def. Tim Puetz/Lukas Marsoun (AU) 8-3
3. Alex Petropoulos/Milan Krnjetin (AU) def. Tucker Vorster/Jakob Klaeson (MISS) 8-3
Match Notes:
Auburn 6-4, 2-1; National ranking #23
Ole Miss 9-3, 2-1; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,2,3,5)