Despite Ole Miss’s Stefano D’Agostino rallying in a second set on the final singles court, he would come up short in the third set as Ole Miss lost, 4-3, to No. 19 Auburn on Friday night at the Palmer/Salloum Outdoor Tennis Center.
After Auburn (16-8, 6-7 SEC) tied the match up at 3-3, the final matchup remaining was between No. 79 D’Agostino and No. 23 Hamza Nasridinov.
The pair was caught in a tight match as Nasridinov captured the first set, 7-6 (7-4), before D’Agostino responded with his own tiebreaker set win of 7-6 (7-4).
With the momentum finally swinging D’Agostino’s way, it seemed like the Rebels (17-8, 5-8 SEC) were on their way to clinching the match against the Tigers. However, D’Agostino would go down with an injury at the beginning of the third set.
After a brief break, D’Agostino continued to play on, but Nasridinov would win the final set, 6-3, clinching the match for Auburn.
In doubles play, Ole Miss got off to a hot start as D’Agostino and Pietro Pampanin started things off by defeating Nicholas Heng and Alan Bojarski, 6-2. Soon after, Auburn would win the next doubles court, but Matthieu Chambonniere and Benjamin Martin defeated Hamza Nasridinov and Jake Kennedy, 7-6 (8-6) to clinch the first point of the match.
In singles, Ole Miss would strike first with freshman Vlado Jankanj defeating Alan Bojarski, 6-3, 6-3, to put the home team up 2-0.
Auburn would respond by winning the next two singles courts to tie the match at 2-2, before Noah Schlagenhauf defeated Freddy Blaydes, 6-3, 6-4, to give Ole Miss a 3-2 advantage. Auburn would secure the next singles court, which tied up the match once again before closing out the final court to secure the match.
The Rebels will play at home this weekend on April 12, at 12 p.m., one final time against No. 22 Kentucky, capping off its regular season. Seniors Stromberg, Schlagenhauf and Gordon Whitwell will be recognized before the match at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
Doubles Results
1. #12 Billy Blaydes/Freddy Blaydes (AUB) def. #25 Isac Stromberg/Kai Milburn (OM) 7-6 (8-6)
2. Stefano D’Agostino/Pietro Pampanin (OM) def. Nicholas Heng/Alan Bojarski (AUB) 6-2
3. M. Chambonniere/Benjamin Martin (OM) def. Hamza Nasridinov/Jake Kennedy (AUB) 7-6 (8-6)
Singles Results
1. #23 Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) def. #79 Stefano D’Agostino (OM) 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3
2. #66 Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. #117 M. Chambonniere (OM) 6-3, 6-4
3. Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Pietro Pampanin (OM) 6-1, 6-4
4. Vlado Jankanj (OM) def. Alan Bojarski (AUB) 6-3, 6-3
5. Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) def. Freddy Blaydes (AUB) 6-3, 6-4
6. Manel Lazaro (AUB) def. Benjamin Martin (OM) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3); Singles (4, 3, 2, 5, 6, 1)