AUBURN, Ala. – In front of one of the largest Auburn tennis crowds in recent memory, the Tigers fought back for a thrilling 4-3 marathon victory over No. 23 Alabama Friday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Tyler Stice provided the winning moment with a 5-7, 7-6 (10), 7-6 (2) win on court 1 in a singles match that lasted more than three hours. After dropping the first set by the slimmest of margins – a deuce point at 5-6 – he found himself facing match point at 40-30 and down 5-6 once again in the second.
But he fought off two match points to send the second set to a tiebreaker, then faced two more match points in the breaker before winning three straight points to earn a 12-10 tiebreak win and force a third set.
Stice got a break to move ahead 5-3 but could not hold for the match as Alabama's Filip Planinsek broke then held to tie it at 5-all. Both players would then hold to send the deciding set to another tiebreaker.
After dropping the first point, Stice won five straight to take a commanding 5-1 lead in the tiebreaker, then finished it off moments later with a 7-2 win to set off a celebration with his teammates and nearly 400 fans in attendance.
Raul Dobai set up the closing dramatics with a thrilling win of his own on court 6 to tie the team score at 3-3. Trailing 5-4 in the third set, he fought off three match points from 40-15 down to tie the set at 5-all, then won the next two games to finish off a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Alabama's Zach Foster.
The teams traded points on tight singles matches throughout. Alabama tied it up on court 3 before Auburn moved back ahead as Murgett won 6-3, 7-5 over Andri Zimnokh on court 2.
The Tide would take the next two points in quick succession as Nicholas Heng fell in three sets on court 5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Alejandro Moreno forced a second-set tiebreaker but came up short, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Auburn jumped out early, sweeping its way to the doubles point. The team of Billy Blaydes and Heng made quick work of Alabama's Matic Dimic and Roan Jones, cruising to a 6-1 win on court 3.
The Tigers would clinch the point and a 1-0 lead on court 1 as Dobai and Murgett got a late break to earn a 6-4 lead over the Tide's Filip Planinsek and Andrii Zimnokh. On court 2, the Tigers' Stice and Will Nolan were one game away from a win when doubles play was halted at 5-2.
Auburn (14-8, 5-4 SEC) will continue its season-ending five-match homestand Sunday with a doubleheader against Mississippi State and Alabama A&M. The Tigers will face State at noon CT followed by a 3 p.m. match against Alabama A&M. Admission is free to all Auburn home tennis matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Auburn 4, Alabama 3
Singles
1. Tyler Stice (AU) def. Filip Planinsek (UA), 5-7, 7-6 (10), 7-6 (2)
2. Finn Murgett (AU) def. Andri Zimnokh (UA), 6-3, 7-5
3. Matias Ponce de Leon (UA) def. Billy Blaydes (AU), 6-1, 7-5
4. Enzo Aguiard (UA) def. Alejandro Moreno (AU), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
5. Roan Jones (UA) def. Nick Heng (AU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
6. Raul Dobai (AU) def. Zach Foster (UA), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
Order of finish: 3, 2, 5, 4, 6, 1
Doubles
1. Dobai/Murgett (AU) def. Planinsek/Zimnokh (UA), 6-4
2. Stice/Nolan (AU) vs. Aguiard/Foster (UA), 5-2 unfinished
3. Blaydes/Heng (AU) def. Dimic/Jones (UA), 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1