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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn enters SEC play 10-2 after Blue-Gray Classic

<p>Jan. 15, 2022; Auburn, Ala; Auburn men's tennis during a match against North Alabama</p>

Jan. 15, 2022; Auburn, Ala; Auburn men's tennis during a match against North Alabama

No. 25 Auburn men's tennis fell to VCU, but took down Nebraska and Tulane in Montgomery over the weekend, and enter conference play 10-2.

VCU

After rain delayed the start of the match until 3 p.m., the singles matches started off with Auburn's Jan Galka taking home a 6-3, 6-1 win on court two. 

However, VCU was able to take courts five, three and one. With their backs against the wall, Will Nolan and Raul Dobai were able to even the match at 3-3, sending the teams into a doubles decider.

The doubles matches went south quickly for Auburn however, as Dobai and Maxwell Giddens fell 6-4 on court three. Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett would lose on the top court, sealing the Rams 4-3 win.

Nebraska

That night, Auburn was able to secure their doubles point early against Nebraska, with the Dobai and Giddens duo winning 6-1, and Murgett and Maclean secured a 6-3 victory on the top court.

Singles play started the next day, where Auburn moved through the Cornhuskers swiftly. Tad Maclean secured a 6-2, 6-2 victory on the third court over William Gleason, while his doubles partner Murgett cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 win on court five.

Jan Galka secured the sweep with a 6-1, 6-4 win on court two over German national Calvin Mueller. The other matches were stopped as the team prepared for the consolation final.

Tulane

The consolation final featured a rematch of Feb. 13th, where the Tigers took a 6-1 victory.

Like the day before, the Tigers moved quickly in doubles, as Galka and Tyler Stice clinched a 6-3 victory on court two, and Murgett/Maclean dispatched their opponents 6-1 on the top court.

The singles matches, by comparison, moved slowly. Four of the matches went to a deciding set. The Tigers made quick work on the other two matches. Dobai took a 6-4, 6-4 match on court four, and Tyler Stice won on a tiebreak on the feature court, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

Jan Galka continued his run of form on court two, coming from behind with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory to seal the match and the lower bracket for the Tigers.

After the tournament, head coach Bobby Reynolds talked about the importance of playing as a team at this level.

 “I’m pleased with how we finished; we needed to get back to the winning side of things,” Reynolds said. "When we’re fighting cohesively as a unit, we’re pretty tough to beat, but when we’re disjointed, certain guys feel more pressure than they should and that works against us.”

The Tigers kick off SEC play against the purple-and-gold Tigers of LSU on Mar. 4th. That will take place at the Yarbrough Tennis Center at 10 a.m. CST.

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Dylan Fox | Sports Writer

Dylan Fox, Junior in Civil Site Design Engineering, joined The Plainsman as a sports writer in Spring 2020. From Geneva, IL.

@DylanBFox

dbf0012@auburn.edu


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