Feb. 19, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Auburn's 16th-ranked men's tennis team rebounded from its first loss of the year, picking up its fourth win over a ranked opponent as they defeated No. 7 Baylor 4-1 on Saturday night in the consolation round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
The Tigers (7-1) dropped the doubles point for the second straight match, but fought their way back with four wins in singles to clinch the victory.
"We dropped a tough doubles point, but there are going to be matches where that happens," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "You have to be able to come back from that. We did a great job of not getting down. We kept our energy up going into singles, where we were able to win five first sets. Baylor is a good team, and I thought they did a good job of staying around. They are a well-coached team. We knew they would battle back."
Auburn and Baylor split the first two doubles matches. The match on court two was decided quickly as Baylor's Marko Krickovic and Robert Verzaal downed Andreas Mies and Lukas Ollert 8-2. The Tigers pulled even in doubles on court three a short while later when Dennis Lengsfeld - who played for Baylor last year - and Lucas Lopasso defeated Kike Grangeiro and Julien Bley 8-3.
Ultimately, the Bears would take a 1-0 lead as Roberto Maytin and Mate Zsiga took Alex Stamchev and Daniel Cochrane to a tiebreaker, winning the match 9-8.
Singles would be a different story for the Tigers. Stamchev made quick work of 100th-ranked Maytin with a 6-1, 6-3 win at the No. 2 position. Ollert would then earn his first win over a ranked opponent, defeating No. 98 Lars Behlen 6-4, 7-5, in the No. 5 singles match. Lopasso earned a straight-set victory over Bley at No. 6 singles, 6-3, 6-4, and Cochrane clinched the match for Auburn with a 6-4, 7-6 win over Krickovic.
The matches on courts one and three were unfinished; both were in the third set at the time Auburn clinched.
The Tigers will close out their week at the National Indoors with a match Sunday against 14th-ranked Texas. The match is slated for a 5:30 p.m. CT start at the Boar's Head Sports Club. Live scoring is available through VirginiaSports.com.
Auburn Men's Tennis Results
ITA National Team Indoor Championship - Consolation
Boar's Head Sports Club - Charlottesville, Va.
February 18, 2012
#16 Auburn 4, #7 Baylor 1
Singles
1. #23 Andreas Mies (AU) vs. #25 Mate Zsiga (BU), 6-7, 6-3, 0-1 unfinished
2. Alex Stamchev (AU) def. #100 Roberto Maytin (BU), 6-1, 6-3
3. Daniel Cochrane (AU) def. Marko Krickovic (BU), 6-4, 7-6
4. Dennis Lengsfeld (AU) vs. Diego Galeano (BU), 6-3, 1-6, 3-1 unfinished
5. Lukas Ollert (AU) def. #98 Lars Behlen (BU), 6-4, 7-5
6. Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Julien Bley (BU), 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 5, 6, 3
Doubles
1. Roberto Maytin/Mate Zsiga (BU) def. Alex Stamchev/Daniel Cochrane (AU), 9-8
2. Marko Krickovic/Robert Verzaal (BU) def. Andreas Mies/Lukas Ollert (AU), 8-2
3. Dennis Lengsfeld/Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Kike Grangiero/Julien Bley (BU), 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Match Notes
Auburn 7-1, National ranking #16
Baylor 4-3, National ranking #7