University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#43 Auburn
TENNIS VOLS DOWN AUBURN, 5-2
March 25, 2007 | Men's Tennis
March 25, 2007
The Tennessee men's tennis team came-from-behind to win a thrilling doubles point to take an early lead and then never looked back as it defeated the Auburn Tigers 5-2 on a hot and sunny day at the UT Outdoor Varsity Courts.
"Auburn is a very competitive team and we had to play very well to beat them," head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "Today's match was every bit as tough as Friday's. Auburn is a lot better than what they are ranked (43rd).
It was a dog fight. The SEC is full of dog fights and the guys are learning to be determined and win these matches. We competed, pushed and had a great team performance today and that is what it is going to take to win."
The Vols (12-4, 4-2 SEC) fell behind early in doubles when Robbert Lathouwers and Alex Schweizer defeated UT's 55th-ranked duo of Adam Hubble and Ben Rogers 8-4. Tennessee and Auburn were locked in a battle at the other two positions. The Vols won at No. 2 doubles when Bobby Cameron and Davey Sandgren defeated Terence Nugent and Alexey Tsyrenov, 9-8. Mere seconds later, Kaden Hensel and Kiril Tcherveniachki defeated Pawel Dilaj and Lukas Marsoun, 9-7 to clinch the point.
With temperatures soaring into the mid-80s both teams conditioning would be tested.
Auburn tied the match at one when Lathouwers defeated Cameron at the No. 2 position, 6-3, 6-4. The Vols derailed any thought the Tigers had of a comeback by winning the next three matches to clinch the match.
Sandgren defeated Dilaj 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 3 spot to give the Vols the lead for good. Tcherveniachki blew past Marsoun in the first set, 6-1 but had to battle back in the second to force a tie-breaker. In the tie-breaker, Marsoun began to cramp up and Tcherveniachki dominated to win the tie-breaker and the match, 6-1, 7-6.
Tennessee senior Ben Rogers clinched the match for the Vols with a come-from-behind 5-7, 6-0, 7-5 win at the No. 4 position over Tsyrenov. Rogers was ahead 5-1 in the third-set before Tsyrenov ran off four straight games to tie the set at five games apiece. Rogers calmed down though and broke Tsyrenov's serve and momentum to reclaim control of the set and ultimately the match.
Freshman Chris Racz rounded out UT's scoring with a 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 win over Nugent at the No. 6 slot. Racz is 8-0 this season in singles during dual-match play.
Auburn's other point came from Schweizer who battled back to defeat Hensel at the No. 1 position, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
The Vols are tied with Florida for the second best record in the SEC East at 4-2. Georgia, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, leads the SEC East with a record of 6-0.
Tennessee returns to action next Friday when it travels to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET.
No. 36 Tennessee 5 No. 43 Auburn 2
| Singles | ||||
| 1. | No. 87 Alex Schweizer (AUB) | def. | No. 36 Kaden Hensel (UT) | 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 |
| 2. | No. 50 Robbert Lathouwers (AUB) | def. | No. 29 Bobby Cameron (UT) | 6-3, 6-4 |
| 3. | No. 120 Davey Sandgren (UT) | def. | Pawel Dilaj (AUB) | 6-3, 6-4 |
| 4. | Ben Rogers (UT) | def. | Alexey Tsyrenov (AUB) | 5-7, 6-0, 7-5* |
| 5. | Kiril Tcherveniachki (UT) | def. | Lukas Marsoun (AUB) | 6-1, 7-6 |
| 6. | Chris Racz (UT) | def. | Terence Nugent (AUB) | 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 |
| Order of Finish: 2,3,5,4,1,6 | ||||
| Doubles | ||||
| 1. | Lathouwers/Schweizer (AUB) | def. | No. 55 Hubble/Rogers (UT) | 8-4 |
| 2. | Cameron/Sandgren (UT) | def. | Nugent/Tsyrenov (AUB) | 9-8 |
| 3. | Hensel/Tcherveniachki (UT) | def. | Dilaj/Marsoun (AUB) | 9-7 |
| Order of Finish: 1,2,3 | ||||
Players Mentioned
