University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#63 Auburn
Men's Tennis Falls to Auburn, 6-1
April 15, 2016 | Men's Tennis
AUBURN, Ala. — The Tennessee Volunteers opened the final weekend of the regular season with a 6-1 loss Friday inside the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Vols (11-15, 0-11 SEC) lost the doubles point and all six first sets in singles as Auburn (12-12, 2-9) got the points it needed to clinch the match.
Freshman Srdjan Jakovljevic led the Vols again at the No. 3 spot in the lineup. He won his team-leading seventh SEC singles match with a 4-6, 6-3, [10-3] comeback over Conner Huertas.
Auburn opened the evening by winning the doubles point with victories on courts 1 and 2. Sophomore Igor Smelyanski, who has missed a majority of the spring with injury, returned to the No. 2 position and lost 6-4 with Jack Heslin.
The Tigers clinched the match with three straight-set wins. Dante Saleh beat junior Jack Schipanski 6-1, 6-0 on court 4, Olle Thestrup defeated junior Sunay Bhat 6-3, 6-3 on court 6 and Maxime Hinnesdaels ended Timo Stodder’s five-match winning streak 6-4, 6-1 on court 2.
Bhat played his first career SEC match, entering the lineup at the No. 6 spot. Sophomore Preston Touliatos, who has played mostly on court 5 this spring, did not play; he had retired with a leg injury Sunday against Texas A&M and is not in the lineup this weekend.
The Vols finish the SEC regular season Sunday at Florida at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Auburn 6, Tennessee 1
Singles
1. Marko Krickovic, AU, def. #71 Luis Valero, 6-1, 4-4 ret.
2. Maxime Hinnisdaels, AU, def. Timo Stodder, UT, 6-4, 6-1
3. Srdjan Jakovljevic, UT, def. Conner Huertas, AU, 4-6, 6-3 [10-3]
4. Dante Saleh, AU, def. Jack Schipanski, UT, 6-1, 6-0
5. Brandon Laubser, AU, def. Jack Heslin, UT, 6-4, 6-3
6. Olle Thestrup, AU, def. Sunay Bhat, UT, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1. Krickovic/Nguyen, AU, def. #22 Schipanski/Valero, UT, 6-4
2. Hinnisdaels/Laubser, AU, def. Smelyanski/Heslin, UT, 6-4
3. Stodder/Jakovljevic, UT, vs. Huertas/Saleh, AU, 5-4 unf.
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,6,2,1,5,3)
