Feb. 15, 2015
Auburn, Ala. – For the second straight match, Georgia Tech captured the doubles point but was unable to muster enough success in singles and dropped a 4-3 decision on the road to 38th-ranked Auburn Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Tech (5-2) fell for the second straight time after a 5-0 start, and does not play again until Feb. 24 when No. 20 Tennessee comes to the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. Auburn (9-1) won its ninth straight match and completed a weekend sweep of Atlantic Coast Conference teams after defeating Clemson on Friday.
Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura, who re-appeared in the ITA doubles rankings this week at No. 44, finished off the doubles point for Tech on court 1 with a 6-4 win on over Marko Krickovic and Oliver Plaskett. Christopher Eubanks and Michael Kay cruised past Lukas Ollert and Joseph Van Dooren, 6-1, on court 3.
Benito increased Tech’s lead to 2-0 with a straight-set victory over Plaskett, 6-2, 6-3, from the sixth position in the lineup, but the Yellow Jackets could not notch another singles win until the match was decided.
Mazime Hinnisdaels, ranked No. 108, defeated Tech freshman Michael Kay at No. 3, and Krickovic, ranked No. 116, defeated another Tech freshman, 50th-ranked Christopher Eubanks at No. 2, both in straight sets, to tie the match.
At 2-2, the contest was in the hands of Nathan Rakitt, Segura and Cole Fiegel, whose matches all went three sets. Dante Saleh overcame a first-set loss to Segura on court 4 to defeat the Tech senior, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Ollert, ranked No. 79, did likewise to defeat Rakitt, ranked No. 47, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, for Auburn’s clinching point.
“Credit to Auburn,” said Tech coach Kenny Thorne. “We have to be tougher on the road. We lost three three-set matches, and we have to turn that around fast. We have over a week of practice before we face Tennessee. We hope to have good home crowd.”
Fiegel and the Tigers’ Joseph Van Dooren played out their match on court 5, and the Yellow Jacket sophomore won for the seventh straight time and improved to 9-1 this spring with a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 win.
#38 Auburn 4, #75 Georgia Tech 3
February 15, 2015, at Auburn, Ala. (Yarbrough Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #79 Lukas Ollert (AU) def. #47 Nathan Rakitt (GT) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-2
2. #116 Marko Krickovic (AU) def. #50 Christopher Eubanks (GT) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
3. #108 Maxime Hinnisdaels (AU) def. Michael Kay (GT) 7-5, 6-4
4. Dante Saleh (AU) def. Eduardo Segura (GT) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Joseph Van Dooren (AU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
6. Carlos Benito (GT) def. Oliver Plaskett (AU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #44 Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) def. Marko Krickovic/Oliver Plaskett (AU) 6-4
2. Maxime Hinnisdaels/Dante Saleh (AU) vs. Nathan Rakitt/Cole Fiegel (GT) 4-5, unfinished
3. Christopher Eubanks/Michael Kay (GT) def. Lukas Ollert/Joseph Van Dooren (AU) 6-1
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 5-2; National ranking #75
Auburn 9-1; National ranking #38
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,3,2,4,1,5)
Match played indoors
T-3:03
