Jan. 29, 2012
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ATLANTA - The 20th-ranked Auburn men's tennis team earned a huge win on Sunday afternoon, defeating No. 19 Georgia Tech on the road, 4-1, to advance to the second round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
Auburn (3-0) showed the depth of its lineup as the Tigers earned crucial wins from the No. 2 and 3 doubles teams and at the No. 4 and 5 singles spots to clinch the victory over Georgia Tech (1-2) on the Yellow Jackets' home courts.
"I thought we battled well today," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "Georgia Tech has a very good No. 1 doubles team, and we knew that going in. I thought our balance showed today in doubles, and we carried that over into singles. We needed a tough match like that at this level of competition. We started out a little slow and got better as match progressed."
Shore said following Friday's match against Middle Tennessee that the team needed a wake-up call, and he said that he thought the team responded well and showed toughness in Sunday's match.
"I think we were a little `match-tougher' from playing that match Friday," Shore said. "We've played three matches so we're not there yet, we're not as `match-tough' as we need to be, but we're getting closer. We're on the right path."
The Tigers will advance to face 18th-ranked North Carolina (2-1) in Monday's second round, which begins at noon CT. The winner of the match will advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which will take place Feb. 17-20 in Charlottesville, Va. With a win, Auburn would make its first appearance under Shore in the national event.
"We've played North Carolina the last three years," Shore said. "They beat us (in 2009 and 2010) in close matches. Last year, we won every close match with them and won the match. We know they're very good, and we're going to have to play extremely well. I think we're ready, we just need to keep playing some tough matches. We've never made it to the National Indoors in all the years I've been here, so that's definitely something to shoot for tomorrow."
Despite falling at the No. 1 doubles spot for the first time this year, the Tigers showed tremendous early resolve in taking the other two doubles matches to gain an early 1-0 lead in the match. The nation's No. 2-ranked duo of Kevin King and Juan Spir were too much for Alex Stamchev and Daniel Cochrane as the Tech pairing took an 8-3 win. With the loss, Stamchev will have to wait at least one more day to match former Auburn great Stephen Huss as the all-time winningest doubles player in Tiger history.
But Auburn's Dennis Lengsfeld and Lucas Lopasso took down Dusan Miljevic and E. Segura Mandarino 8-5, and Andreas Mies and Lukas Ollert clinched the doubles point with an 8-6 win over J. Melian Puigventos and Vikram Hundal.
In singles, the Yellow Jackets knotted the team score at 1-1 as the No. 9-ranked King handed 18th-ranked Mies his first loss of the dual season, 6-3, 6-3. But the Tigers' depth came through as freshman Lukas Ollert remained undefeated as a Tiger with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Hundal at the No. 5 position to put the Tigers back in the lead.
Just a few moments later, Stamchev finished off Spir at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-4, to put Auburn a point away from victory. The clinching point would come from Lengsfeld at the No. 4 spot as he defeated Miljevic, 6-4, 7-5, to keep Auburn undefeated so far in 2012.
The No. 3 singles match between Cochrane and Puigventos and the No. 6 match between Lopasso and Mandarino were unfinished with both tilts in the third set.
Monday's match against North Carolina begins at noon CT. Live stats will be available through ramblinwreck.com.
Auburn Men's Tennis Results
January 29, 2012 - Bill Moore Tennis Center - Atlanta, Ga.
No. 20 Auburn 4, No. 19 Georgia Tech 1
Singles
1. #9 Kevin King (GT) def. #18 Andreas Mies (AU), 6-3, 6-3
2. Alex Stamchev (AU) def. Juan Spir (GT), 6-2, 6-4
3. Daniel Cochrane (AU) vs. J. Melian Puigventos (GT), 1-6, 6-3, 1-1 unf.
4. Dennis Lengsfeld (AU) def. Dusan Miljevic (GT), 6-4, 7-5
5. Lukas Ollert (AU) def. Vikram Hundal (GT), 6-3, 6-1
6. Lucas Lopasso (AU) vs. E. Segura Mandario (GT), 3-6, 6-1, 3-3 unf.
Order of finish: 1, 5, 2, 4
Doubles
1. #2 Kevin King/Juan Spir (GT) def. Alex Stamchev/Daniel Cochrane (AU), 8-3
2. Andreas Mies/Lukas Ollert (AU) def. J. Melian Puigventos/Vikram Hundal (GT), 8-6
3. Dennis Lengsfeld/Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Dusan Milijevic/E. Segura Mandarino (GT), 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Match Notes
Auburn 3-0, National ranking #20
Georgia Tech 1-2, National ranking #19
2012 ITA Kick-Off Weekend: Match #2