Feb. 9, 2013
FRESNO, Calif. - Auburn's 22nd-ranked men's tennis team got its West Coast swing off to a good start Saturday afternoon with a 6-1 win over No. 66 San Diego State at Fresno State's Wathen Tennis Center.
The Tigers (6-1) earned their second win in three tries this season over a nationally ranked opponent and will face Fresno State at 2 p.m. CT Sunday to conclude a five-match road trip.
"We played solid tennis today," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "Hopefully we can continue that tomorrow. We talked about trying to get the job done this weekend, looking at two matches instead of one. We're halfway home and we have to finish the job tomorrow.
"Our number one doubles team continues to do their job; everybody they play is very fired up to play them. Our freshman, Joseph Van Dooren, keeps getting better. He's got a ways to go, but he's starting to play a little better, and that's encouraging. Our depth helps, with Michael Wardell playing well at (number) six today; that helped a lot. And Dennis Lengsfeld really stepped up and played well today at number three."
Auburn made it 7-for-7 in claiming the doubles point this year as they took an early 1-0 lead on the Aztecs. The nation's second-ranked duo of senior Andreas Mies and junior Daniel Cochrane claimed a 7-4 win at the No. 1 spot as the team of Bertsch and Nicholas retired. And the Tigers clinched the point as Dennis Lengsfeld and Lucas Lopasso earned an 8-6 win over SDSU's Derek Siddiqui and Andranik Kachatryan.
The Tigers then kept rolling with wins in five of six singles matches. Wardell remained unbeaten on the season at 5-0 with a 6-1, 6-2 win at the No. 6 spot over Shiva Sangwar Lengsfeld claimed a 6-2, 6-1 win over Kachatryan at the No. 3 spot, and Joseph Van Dooren took a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 5 spot over Spencer Simon to clinch the match at 4-0.
Mies, ranked No. 74 in the ITA singles rankings, won in straight sets over Thorstan Bertsch, 6-3, 6-1 to give Auburn a 5-0 lead. The Aztecs got on the board at the No. 2 position as Derek Siddiqui posted a 6-4, 6-2 win over Cochrane, and Lopasso closed it out for Auburn in a match tiebreak with a 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 (10-5) over Juan Florez.
Sunday's match with Fresno State is set for a 2 p.m. CT start. Live results will be available at GoBulldogs.com.
Auburn Men's Tennis Results
February 9, 2013
Wathen Tennis Center - Fresno, Calif.
No. 22 Auburn 6, No. 66 San Diego State 1
Singles
1. No. 74 Andreas Mies (AU) def. Thorstan Bertsch (SDSU), 6-3, 6-1
2. Derrick Siddiqui (SDSU) def. Daniel Cochrane (AU), 6-4, 6-2
3. Dennis Lengsfeld (AU) def. Andranik Kachatryan (SDSU), 6-2, 6-1
4. Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Juan Florez (SDSU), 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 (10-5)
5. Joseph Van Dooren (AU) def. Spencer Simon (SDSU), 6-3, 6-2
6. Michael Wardell (AU) def. Shiva Sangwar (SDSU), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 3, 5, 1, 2, 4
Doubles
1. No. 2 Cochrane/Mies (AU) def. Nicholas/Bertsch (SDSU), 7-4 ret.
2. Lengsfeld/Lopasso (AU) def. Siddiqui/Kachatryan (SDSU), 8-6
3. Ollert/Van Dooren (AU) vs. Simon/Sangwar (SDSU), 7-7 unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2