Tigers Wrap Up Competition at Southern Intercollegiate - AuburnTigers.com

Tigers Wrap Up Competition at Southern Intercollegiate Lopasso/Rondino advance to doubles semifinals

<B>Liam Gomez</b> won three singles and two doubles matches during the weekend.

Liam Gomez won three singles and two doubles matches during the weekend.

Sept. 25, 2011

ATHENS, Ga. - Auburn's men's tennis team concluded its opening weekend of the 2011 fall season Sunday with four matches at the Southern Intercollegiate at the Dan Magill Tennis Center.

"Overall it was a positive week, we saw a couple of bright spots," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "Lucas (Lopasso) played well; it was good to see him playing well again. He's not quite there yet, but he's on the right track. Liam (Gomez) had a good weekend and won some matches; it's good to see him playing well. "

The doubles team of junior Lucas Lopasso and sophomore Rafael Rondino advanced to the semifinals of the Division II doubles bracket with an 8-5 win over the mixed pairing of NC State's Will Rollinson and Virginia Tech's Mauricio Antun. The Tiger pairing would drop a disappointing match to Kentucky's Maks Gold and Ryuji Hirooka by a 9-7 margin, falling just a few points short of the championship.

"Lucas and Rafael made a good run, but it was disappointing the way it ended," Shore said. "We were up 7-4, served for the match up 7-5, had match point at 40-30, and let it get away from us. Those pro sets can turn around quickly, but hopefully we can get better."

In singles play, Lopasso dropped a three-set decision to Robbie Mudge of NC State, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, in the quarterfinal round. On the other side of the bracket, sophomore Liam Gomez fell in his quarterfinal match against Lucas Santana of Georgia State, 6-2, 6-2.

The Tigers finished the week with a 7-5 record in singles and a 5-2 mark in doubles play.

Auburn will return to action next weekend with tournament play taking place at two sites. Selected players will compete at the D'Novo ITA All-American Tournament in Tulsa, Okla., with others heading to the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational. Play at both tournaments gets underway Saturday.

Auburn Results

Division II Singles - Quarterfinals
Robbie Mudge (NCSU) def. Lucas Lopasso (AU), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4
Lucas Santana (Ga. State) def. Liam Gomez (AU), 6-2, 6-2

Division II Doubles - Quarterfinals
Lucas Lopasso/Rafael Rondino (AU) def. Will Rollinson (NCSU)/Mauricio Antun (VT), 8-5

Division II Doubles - Semifinals
Maks Gold/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Lucas Lopasso/Rafael Rondino (AU), 9-7