Auburn men’s tennis had a tough weekend on the road, going 0-2 against No. 17 Oklahoma and No. 14 Arkansas to fall to 14-5 overall and 4-4 in SEC play.
Auburn vs. Oklahoma: 5-2 loss
The Tigers started off the weekend on Friday evening with a match against No. 17 Oklahoma at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
Auburn showed early promise by claiming the doubles point against the Sooners. Points came from brothers Billy and Freddy Blaydes, who rallied after being down 5-2 to win 7-5 on the top court, while Jake Kennedy and Hamza Nasridinov won 6-4 at No. 3.
Oklahoma came out strong in the singles matches, winning the first set on five courts and ultimately coming away with a 5-2 win.
Alan Bojarski was a bright spot, coming back from down 5-3 to win the first set 7-5 and ultimately complete his match in three sets after the team result was decided.
Auburn vs. Arkansas: 6-1 loss
The Tigers were unable to build on Friday’s doubles success on Sunday afternoon at the Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Blaydes brothers rolled to a 6-1 win on the top doubles court to claim their 15th win of the season. However, Arkansas claimed the remaining two doubles matches to earn the point and carried that momentum into the singles matches.
Arkansas claimed a quick 3-0 lead in the singles matches with straight-set wins at the No. 2 and No. 4 positions and secured the team victory before Auburn could mount any real response.
Freshman Manel Lazaro won a gutsy three-set match at No. 6 (6-4, 3-6, 6-3) to provide Auburn's lone point of the afternoon.
Auburn will return home to host LSU on Friday, March 27, at 3 p.m. CDT. The match will also serve as Kids Club Day, with a post-match clinic with coaches and players on the courts for young fans.
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