Alabama
Auburn
No. 23 Alabama Falls, 4-3, in Hard-Fought Match against Auburn
4/5/2024 9:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Crimson Tide captured wins from Matias Ponce De Leon, Roan Jones and Enzo Aguiard
Auburn, Ala. –– In a battle that came down to a three-set fight for the deciding point, the No. 23 Alabama men's tennis team (15-11, 4-6 SEC) fell, 4-3, to Auburn (14-8, 5-4 SEC) on Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Crimson Tide saw singles victories from Matias Ponce De Leon, Roan Jones and Enzo Aguiard. With the match score tied at 3-3, Auburn secured the overall victory off a battle at the No. 1 spot that went into three sets and featured two tiebreakers.
From Head Coach George Husack
"Painful finish today but then again losing tight matches is never pain free. Our doubles performance was disappointing but we shook it off and responded very well in singles. All the guys competed their tails off in front of a loud home crowd and put themselves in a position to win. The outcome doesn't fall on any one person's shoulders as we're all in this together. There's more tennis ahead of us so we can learn from today and keep moving forward. No complaints or excuses but rather opportunities to be better next time out."
Match Notes
- Auburn secured the doubles point off wins on courts three and one
- In singles, Matias Ponce De Leon evened the overall score at 1-1 with a victory over Billy Blaydes on court three
- The UA sophomore would drop just one game in the opening set to take the match at 6-1, 7-5
- Auburn followed with a win on court two, but UA tallied wins from Roan Jones on court five and Enzo Aguiard on court four to take the lead (3-2)
- Jones downed Nicholas Heng in a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 decision while No. 106-ranked Aguiard defeated Alejandro Moreno 6-3, 7-6(4)
- A win by the Tigers on court six would force the deciding point at the No. 1 spot
- Auburn would emerge with the victory after winning tiebreakers on sets two and three to claim the match
Next
- The Tide will conclude the regular season with a pair of home matches
- Alabama will host Ole Miss on Friday, April 12, at 4 p.m. CT before facing Texas A&M on Sunday, April 14, at 1 p.m.
Results
Doubles
- #37 Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AUB) def. #58 Filip Planinsek/Andrii Zimnokh (UA), 6-4
- Will Stice/Tyler Nolan (AUB) vs. #56 Enzo Aguiard/Zach Foster (UA), 5-2 unfinished
- Billy Blaydes/Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Matic Dimic/Roan Jones (UA), 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
- #45 Tyler Stice (AUB) def. #48 Filip Planinsek (UA) 5-7, 7-6 (10), 7-6(2)
- #101 Finn Murgett (AUB) def. #96 Andrii Zimnokh (UA) 6-3, 7-5
- Matias Ponce De Leon (UA) def. Billy Blaydes (AUB) 6-1, 7-5
- #106 Enzo Aguiard (UA) def. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) 6-3, 7-6(4)
- Roan Jones (UA) def. Nicholas Heng (AUB) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
- Raul Dobai (AUB) def. Zach Foster (4-6, 6-3, 7-5)
Order of Finish: 3,2,5,4,6,1
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– UA –
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,5,4,6,1
Players Mentioned
