Trojans Fall at No.21 Auburn

Saturday, January 21

Auburn, AL

1 p.m.

Troy University

Auburn University

Photo by: Troy University

1/21/2012 5:04:00 PM | Tennis (M)

By: Matt Mays

Box Score

AUBURN, Ala. – The Troy men's tennis team dropped its second straight match to a ranked opponent as it fell to 21st-ranked Auburn on Saturday afternoon.

The Trojans (0-2), who fell to No.44 Florida State on Monday to open their season, had a tough day at the Yarbrough Tennis Center as they fell to the Tigers, 7-0.

Auburn (1-0) swept the doubles point in their season opener, but the Trojans gave them all they could handle at the second spot in the lineup. Troy's Jamie Eccleton and Mansingh Athare pushed Auburn's pair into a tiebreaker, but fell, 8-7 (7-1).

However, when that match ended, the Trojans had already lost the doubles point as they fell at the first and third spots in the lineup. Auburn's duo of Alex Stamchev and Andreas Mies, who are ranked sixth in the nation, were too much for Patrick Eichler and Sami Ghorbel at the No.1 spot, while Troy's Anas Rouchdi and Ture Skinner couldn't break through at No.3 doubles.

The Trojans struggled in singles action as they dropped all six matches in straight sets, including to Mies, the 18th-ranked player in the nation, in the first spot. Rouchdi had the task of matching up with Mies, but fell, 6-1, 6-2.

Troy also fell in the other five singles slots to close out the match.

Troy returns to the court on Feb. 9 when they host Samford at the Lunsford Tennis Complex. The Trojans and Bulldogs are set to begin at 2:00 p.m. in Troy's home opener.

For more information on Troy Athletics, be sure to visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or become fans on Facebook.