University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Win Thriller Over Auburn
March 30, 2001 | Men's Tennis
 |
| Mark Parsons |
"This was a great performance by a team with three guys that have serious injuries (Toledo-bone spur, Handoyo-pulled abdominal muscle and Carey-lower back)," said Tennessee head coach Michael Fancutt. "I am very proud of my guys and I hope we can carry this momentum into the rest of the season. This was just a really exciting victory, plus it keeps us in the race for the SEC crown."
Auburn (9-4, 3-2 SEC) started the match off in impressive style, making a comeback of its own to take the doubles point. Tennessee struck the first blow in doubles play with a victory from No. 38 Andy Crews and Peter Handoyo in the No. 3 match. The pair was playing together for the first time in over a month and continued right where they left off defeating Auburn’s Estevam Strecker and Ryan Sanders 8-5. Auburn then struck back with a win by Mark Kovacks and Rameez Junaid in the No. 2 match over Tennessee’s 12th-ranked tandem of Mark Parsons and Adam Carey 9-8(0). Tennessee’s duo of Mario Toledo and Paul Podbury started off very well against Auburn’s fourth-ranked tandem of George Matijasevic and Tiago Ruffoni, taking a commanding 7-4 lead in a match that could have clinched the doubles point for the Vols. However, the Auburn pair fought back and took a hard-fought 9-7 victory to gain the doubles point for the Tigers.
Things also started off roughly for the Vols in singles, as No. 33 Peter Handoyo dropped his first match in his last nine outings to Auburn’s Junaid 6-0, 6-2. Handoyo has played his last three matches with a pulled abdominal muscle which has forced him to serve underhanded. Tennessee would not wait long to get in the scoring column as Freshman Simon Rea won easily over Auburn’s Raitis Tukans in the No. 6 match 6-1, 6-2. Rea was followed up by No. 74 Paul Podbury, who tied the match score up at two with a 7-6(6), 6-4 victory over Estevam Strecker in the No. 5 match.
Tennessee’s next two points would be their toughest of the day as both No. 80 Mark Parsons and No. 62 Mario Toledo were taken to three sets before pulling out victories. Parsons started out well taking the first set 6-1, before dropping the second set 6-4 to Auburn’s No. 83 Matijasevic. Parsons proved to be too tough, taking the final set 6-3. The win was Parsons second straight victory over a ranked opponent. Parsons is now 6-10 in his last 16 matches, with 15 of the 16 matches coming against players currently ranked nationally.
"I feel I am starting to gain a little confidence," Parsons said. "I haven’t been hitting the ball any differently since the Milwaukee Classic (which Parsons won Jan. 13), it has just been a confidence thing. I have played a lot of ranked players playing in the No. 1 and 2 slots, and a lot of those matches I lost in three sets and that is just really hard. I don’t think I am totally over it yet, I still thought about it even today when I was up 5-1 in the third set. He (Matijasevic) came back and won a couple of games and I started wondering if it was going to happen again. I was able to play my game and win the match, so hopefully this will be a good stepping stone in building my confidence back up for the end of the season."
Toledo’s match would prove to be the match of the day, as he came back from down 7-5, 3-0 to upend Auburn’s Mark Kovacks 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 4 match. The 62nd-ranked Toledo’s win also clinched the victory for the Vols and kept them on track for their SEC-showdown with No. 5 Georgia Sunday in Athens.
"I saw everybody else out there fighting and I just said to myself it was time to turn it around and win this match," said Toledo. "It was a great fight by the whole team today and we are still right in the thick of the SEC race. Hopefully we can go to Athens this weekend and play with the fire we showed today."
Tennessee 4, Auburn 3
| Doubles | |
| No. 1 | (4) Matijasevic/ Ruffoni (AU) def. Podbury/ Toledo (UT) 9-7 |
| No. 2 | (Kovacs/ Junaid (AU) def. (12) Carey/ Parsons (UT) 9-8(0) |
| No. 3 |
(38) Crews/ Handoyo (UT) def. Strecker/ Sanders (AU) 8-5 |
| Singles | |
| No. 1 | (80) Mark Parsons (UT) def. (83) George Matijasevic (AU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 |
| No. 2 | (35) Tiago Ruffoni (AU) def. (44) Adam Carey (UT) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| No. 3 | Rameez Junaid (AU) def.(33) Peter Handoyo (UT) 6-0, 6-2 |
| No. 4 | (62) Mario Toledo (UT) def. Mark Kovacs (AU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 * |
| No. 5 | (74) Paul Podbury(UT) def. Estevam Strecker (AU) 7-6(6), 6-4 |
| No. 6 | Simon Rea (UT) def. Raitis Tukans (AU) 6-1, 6-2 |
