The Auburn men's tennis team had an eventful weekend at home Friday and Sunday, competing against No. 22 Ole Miss and No. 13 Arkansas.
The Tigers snatched a huge win from the hands of Ole Miss, defeating the Rebels 4-3 on Friday, March 18, thanks to a powerful singles performance at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Rebels won the doubles point with a 7-4 tiebreaker win by Stefan Lindmark and Gustav Hansson over Auburn's Conner Huertas del Pino and Dante Saleh.
The Tigers "showed real heart" after losing the doubles point, according to Auburn coach Eric Shore. "It was tough to lose that doubles point in a tiebreaker, but we really fought back and battled in every singles match."
Max Hinnisdaels led by defeating Lindmark 6-4, 7-5 and Ollie Thestrup followed with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Ricardo Jorge to tie the match at 2-2.
Auburn gained the 3-2 lead when Dante Saleh won his second set against Fabian Fallert 6-3, 7-6. Huertas del Pino extended the lead to 4-2 when he defeated Filip Kraljevic. The Rebels were unable to capitalize and the final score ended in a victory for the Tigers, their first win in SEC play.
Moving on to No. 13 Arkansas, the outcome was not the same. The Razorbacks were the victors Sunday, March 20, in a 7-0 decision on Auburn's home turf.
"Arkansas played well today, but I saw some good things from us that will help moving forward," Shore said. "We started out in doubles and were doing well on one and three, but give Arkansas credit for fighting back and taking control."
Auburn dropped every first set in singles, and the doubles point was clinched by Arkansas with two victories, leaving a Saleh and Huertas del Pino lead on court three unfinished.
"In singles, I see some positives from the weekend," said Shore. "We had some tactical errors today, but there are a number of good things we can build on for next weekend."
The 9-7 Tigers will host No. 68 Vanderbilt on Sunday, April 3 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn.
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