Blue Raiders battle before falling to No. 20 Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. - The Blue Raider men's tennis team struggled against the 20th-ranked Auburn Tigers, dropping all six singles and three doubles matches in the 7-0 loss on Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

Matthew Langley, in the No. 2 slot, took Alex Stamchev to a third-set tiebreaker. Stamchev won the first set, 6-4, before Langley rallied to take the second set, 6-3. The two played tightly through the tiebreaker, but it was Stamchev with the 10-7 victory to capture the match.

Christoph Lang also went three sets from the three-hole, falling to Lucas Lopasso, 6-1, in the initial frame. Lang battled back with a 6-1 performance of his own in the second set, but Lopasso sealed the win with another 6-1 win in the final frame.

Yannick Born made his Blue Raider debut as the No. 5 singles and battled to a tiebreaker in the first set before dropping a 7-6 (8), 6-3 decision.

The Blue Raiders will hold their first home matches of the 2012 season on Sunday at Nashboro Village. MT will face Chattanooga at 10 a.m. and Morehead State at 3 p.m.

COMPLETE RESULTS
Singles
1. No. 18 Andreas Mies (AU) def. Ben Davis (MTSU), 6-2, 7-5
2. Alex Stamchev (AU) def. Matthew Langley (MTSU), 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)
3. Daniel Cochrane (AU) def. Ettore Zito (MTSU), 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
4. Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Christoph Lang (MTSU), 6-1, 1-6, 6-1
5. Rafael Rondino (AU) def. Yannick Born (MTSU), 7-6 (8), 6-3
6. Lukas Ollert (AU) def. Dimitri Pippos (MTSU), 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: 6, 5, 4, 2, 1, 3

Doubles
1. Alex Stamchev/Daniel Cochrane (AU) def. Ben Davis/Christoph Lang (MTSU), 8-1
2. Andreas Mies/Lukas Ollert (AU) def. Yannick Born/Marlon Brand (MTSU), 8-4
3. Lucas Lopasso/Rafael Rondino (AU) def. Matthew Langley/Ettore Zito (MTSU), 8-1

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

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