The Auburn men's tennis team stayed home for a doubleheader against Mercer and came out victorious in both meetings.
The Tigers won both matches against the bears by a score of 6-1.
Sophomore Maxime Hinnisdaels helped lead the Tigers by winning his first singles match 6-1 6-1, and his second singles match 6-1 6-3. Although he was unable to finish his first doubles match, Hinnisdaels won his second doubles match 6-2.
After the match Hinnisdaels said he thought he played well, but those types of matches are about focus more than anything else.
"I feel like I took care of business," Hinnisdaels said. "I feel like I didn't spend too much unnecessary time on the court, and I didn't expend too much energy. I did what I had to do, and won the points I had to win."
Hinnisdaels' doubles partner, Joseph Van Dooren, also had a solid day. In the first match Van Dooren won singles 6-2 6-2, while in the second match he won 6-3 6-1 in addition to a doubles victory.
Van Dooren said despite the scoreboard showed little to no signs of him struggling, it took him some time to get into the match.
"In the first match I started really slowly," Van Dooren said. "I still have to find my rhythm because we played outside this week, and then we played the match indoors. Then, the second set I was playing better and better. But then my second match I played really well."
Despite winning both matches, head coach Eric Shore said the team came out sloppy and although there were moments of good tennis, he still wants to see much more.
"I thought we were slow out of the gates in doubles first match," Shore said. "I thought we played better in singles and picked it up. And then coming back, I thought we were better in doubles the second time around. And then I thought in singles we weren't as sharp the second time around. So we're a little inconsistent. This team is better than they were last year. They gave us a good battle here today."
Next on The tigers schedule is a doubleheader against UAB on Feb. 6. The Tigers now move to 5-1 on the season with their lone loss coming from Ohio State.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
