AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn men's tennis team split a home doubleheader Saturday, defeating Alcorn State 4-0 and falling to No. 10 Mississippi State 4-0 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
"In doubles against Mississippi State, we had chances, but the good teams do the little things over and over very well," Auburn coach Bobby Reynolds said. "That's what we have to strive for, and believe we can do. We keep learning from each match and building on what we learn."
Auburn made quick work of the doubles point against Alcorn, with Anders Fry and Diego Chavarria posting a 6-0 shutout of Ivan Matas and Santiago Rocca on court two, followed by a doubles point-clinching 6-3 win by Matteo DeVincentis and Filippo Mora on court one over Johnatan Parat and Gjorgii Popovski.
Auburn won the first set in all six singles matches; Michael Durham collected the first point in singles with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Ivan Matas on court four, and Alex Rushin added a point with his 6-0, 6-1 victory over Kareem Bowe on court six. Playing on court five, Diego Chavarria clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-0 decision over Santiago Rocca, giving Auburn the 4-0 team win.
Against Mississippi State, the doubles point was tightly contested, with the Bulldogs squeezing out 7-5 wins on courts one and three. Mississippi State carried the momentum of winning the doubles point over into singles, capturing the first set on five of six courts and winning the team match with victories on courts one, two and four. Playing on court five, Tim Dollman was the only Auburn player to win his first set, by a 6-4 margin over Trevor Foshey, and was winning his second set 5-3 when the team match was clinched.
Auburn is now 12-12 overall and still seeking its first SEC win of the season. Next on the schedule, the Tigers host No. 18 Alabama Friday at 3 p.m. All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn) and admission is free.
#10 Mississippi State 4, Auburn 0
Singles
#3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Matteo DeVincentis (AU) 6-0, 6-1
#102 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Filippo Mora (AU) 6-1, 6-1
Tad Maclean (AU) v Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 4-6, 4-4 unfinished
Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Brandon Laubser (AU) 6-3, 6-4
Tim Dollman (AU) v Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-4, 5-3 unfinished
Michael Durham (AU) v Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 3-6, 5-4 unfinished
Doubles
#7 Borges/Rakic (MSU) def. Laubser/Maclean (AU) 7-5
DeVincentis/Mora (AU) v #3 Braun/Oradini (MSU) 6-6 (5-1) unfinished
Gregor Ramskogler/Foshey (MSU) def. Anders Fry/Diego Chavarria (AU) 7-5
Time of match: 2:10; Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1; Singles: 1,2,4
Auburn 4, Alcorn State 0
Singles
Matteo DeVincentis (AU) v Gjorgii Popovski (ASU) 6-3, 4-2 unfinished
Tad Maclean (AU) v Johnatan Parat (ASU) 6-1, 4-2 unfinished
Brandon Laubser (AU) v Nuno Rocha (ASU) 6-1, 4-0 unfinished
Michael Durham (AU) def. Ivan Matas (ASU) 6-0, 6-0
Diego Chavarria (AU) def. Santiago Rocca (ASU) 6-1, 6-0
Alex Rushin (AU) def. Kareem Bowe (ASU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
DeVincentis/Mora (AU) def. Parat/Popovski (ASU) 6-3
Fry/Chavarria (AU) def. Matas/Rocca (ASU) 6-0
Rushin/Durham (AU) v Bowe/Rocha (ASU) 4-2 unfinished
Time of match: 1:25; Order of finish: Doubles: 2,1; Singles: 4,6,5