March 31, 2013
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LEXINGTON, Ky. - Auburn saw its unbeaten streak in conference road matches come to an end Sunday afternoon with a 4-1 loss to No. 8 Kentucky at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center.
The 32nd-ranked Tigers (12-7, 4-5 SEC) got a pair of wins in doubles play but could not overcome a tough singles lineup from the Wildcats (18-6, 6-3). Auburn lost for the first time in four SEC road matches, having previously claimed victories at LSU, Arkansas and Vanderbilt.
Auburn jumped out to an early lead after claiming two doubles matches, but Kentucky struck first. The 19th-ranked UK team of Tom Jomby and Kevin Lai defeated fifth-ranked Andreas Mies and Daniel Cochrane at the No. 1 spot, 8-6. But the Tigers fought back on the other two courts. Lukas Ollert and Joseph Van Dooren defeated Beck Pennington and Ryuji Hirooka, 9-7, on court three to even the doubles scoring, then Dennis Lengsfeld and Lucas Lopasso secured the point with an 8-6 win over Grant Roberts and Anthony Rossi at the second doubles position.
From there, though, it would be all Kentucky. Roberts pulled the Wildcats even with a 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 4 position over Ollert, and 18th-ranked Rossi gave Kentucky the lead as he downed 34th-ranked Mies, 6-3, 6-1.
Kentucky then got a win from No. 24 Jomby over Cochrane at the second singles spot, 6-4, 6-4, to take a 3-1 lead in the team match. Then, on court four, Lengsfeld fought back to force a second-set tiebreaker after dropping the first set, but he was unable to outlast Charles Minc in a 6-4, 7-6 (3) loss.
Lopasso had won his first set over Lai on court five, 7-6 (7), and Van Dooren was in a first-set tiebreaker with Pennington on court six when the match was halted.
Auburn will play its final home match of the season on Friday as Texas A&M makes its first visit to the Yarbrough Tennis Center as an SEC opponent. The match is set for a 5 p.m. start, and Senior Night festivities honoring Andreas Mies, Lucas Lopasso and Michael Wardell will take place during the intermission between doubles and singles.
No. 8 Kentucky 4, No. 32 Auburn 1
Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center - Lexington, Ky.
March 31, 2013
Doubles (Order of finish: 1, 3, 2*)
1- No. 19 Tom Jomby/Kevin Lai (UK) def. No. 5 Andreas Mies/Daniel Cochrane (AU) 8-6
2- Dennis Lengsfeld/Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Grant Roberts/Anthony Rossi (UK) 8-6
3- Lukas Ollert/Joseph Van Dooren (AU) def. Beck Pennington/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) 9-7
Singles (Order of finish: 4, 1, 2, 3*)
1- No. 18 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. No. 34 Andreas Mies (AU) 6-3, 6-1
2- No. 24 Tom Jomby (UK) def. No. 106 Daniel Cochrane (AU) 6-4, 6-4
3- Charles Minc (UK) def. Dennis Lengsfeld (AU) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
4- Grant Roberts (UK) def. Lukas Ollert (AU) 6-1, 6-1
5- Lucas Lopasso (AU) vs. Kevin Lai (UK) 7-6 (7), 1-0 unfinished
6- Beck Pennington (UK) vs. Joseph Van Dooren (AU) 6-6 (6-4 UK) unfinished