DURHAM, NC- No. 23 Auburn fell in a close game against No. 41 Cornell in the first round of the NCAA championships hosted by Duke University on Saturday. Auburn’s 4-3 loss ends the 2023 season with a 17-12 overall record.
Auburn’s Top Doubles Team Raul Dobai And Finding Murgett started the doubles point strong by beating Adit Sinha and Nathan Mao 6-1, but the Big Red won the other two doubles matches to claim the doubles point.
In singles, Dobai from Auburn, Billy Blayde And Alexander Moreno each received quick wins in the first set to build momentum for the match. Blaydes dominated in his match with Aman Sharma, winning 6-0, 6-2 to tie the game at 1-1. Murget, Tyler Stice And Jan Galka each came from behind to tie their respective opening sets 5-5. Murgett and Galka each fell in their sets 7-5, while Stice lost his opening set in a tiebreaker.
Moreno earned a straight-sets win over Adit Sinha 6-2, 6-2 and moments later Raul Dobai won his match against Samuel Paquette by a score of 6-4, 7-5. This gave Auburn a 3-1 lead in the game.
Stice and Murgett, the only games remaining, forced a third set, with the Tigers needing to claim one of two singles matches to advance to the NCAA second round. Stice finally fell in his match at 88e Radu Papoe ranked 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4 and Cornell’s Petar Teodorovic won the match against Murgett by a score of 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
With the win, Cornell improved its overall season record to 18-6 and advanced to the NCAA Second Round on Sunday.
The Tigers end the season with their 39e NCAA postseason offer in program history (second under head coach Bobby Reynolds) and four wins over the top 25 opponents.
#41 Cornell 4, #23 Auburn 3
Singles results:
1. #88 Radu Papoe (COR) def. #51 Tyler Stice (AUB) 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 6-4
2.#125 Alexander Moreno (AUB) def. Adit Sinha (COR) 6-2, 6-2
3. Petar Teodorovic (COR) defeated. #119 Finding Murgett (AUB) 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
4. Nathan Mao (COR) defeated. Jan Galka (AUB) 7-5, 6-3
5. Raul Dobai (AUB) def. Samuel Paquette (COR) 6-4, 7-5
6. Billy Blayde (AUB) def. Aman Sharma (COR) 6-0, 6-2
Duplicate results:
1. #17 Raul Dobai/Finding Murgett (AUB) def. Adit Sinha/Nathan Mao (COR) 6-1
2. Petar Teodorovic/Samuel Paquette (COR) def. Jan Galka/Billy Blayde (AUB) 6-1
3. Radu Papoe/Aman Sharma (COR) defeated. Tyler Stice/Alexander Moreno (AUB) 6-4
