Auburn’s men’s tennis team took on in-state rival Alabama Friday in Auburn. The tigers, despite being ranked 39th to Alabama’s 66th rank, fell to the Crimson Tide 4-1.
The tigers were unable to secure the doubles point after dropping both the first and second court doubles matches.
Junior Marko Krickovic and sophomore Oliver Plaskett lost 6-4 on court one while on court two, sophomores Maxime Hinnisdaels and Dante Saleh lost 6-1.
After the match, Hinnisdaels voiced his frustration despite being the only Auburn player to win in singles.
“I don’t think it was a very good team match for us,” Hinnisdaels said, “Doubles was not very good for my partner and I. They just finished their business as they should, and we were not able to fight back. It’s a tough loss.”
Hinnisdaels won his singles match on court three 6-3 6-4.
Senior Lukas Ollert lost his match on court one 6-4 6-2 while his doubles partner Joseph Van Dooren lost on court five 6-2 7-5.
Head coach Eric Shore told me after the match that his team wasn’t able to take the opportunities in front of them tonight.
“They handled the moment better than we did tonight,” Shore said, “I was telling the guys we need to hold together, we’re not playing our best tennis right now but credit to them. They handled the moment better. We’ve got to be sharper and tougher to get ready for Sunday. We’ve got to be men about it and move forward.”
The now 11-5 Tigers are set to host the Mississippi State Bulldogs Sunday, March 15 at 1:00 p.m. in Auburn.
The Tigers are getting desperate for another conference win as their conference record is now at 1-3.
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