No. 16 Clemson Falls to Auburn, 5-2

CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 16 Clemson (2-2) fell to Auburn (7-1) by a score of 5-2 at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility on Friday evening.

Auburn struck first in doubles play. The team of F. Blaydes and B. Blaydes knocked off Viktor Markov and Henrik Bladelius, 6-1. Matisse Farzam and Manuel Plunger struck back, outlasting Kennedy and Bojarski 7-6(5). In the deciding doubles match, Noa Vukadin and Edoardo Chérié Lignière broke Auburn’s Heng and Phillips to force a tiebreaker, but eventually fell 7-6(4), giving Auburn the doubles point.

In singles competition, Auburn put the first two points on the board after Heng defeated Farzam, 6-4, 6-4 and B. Blaydes won a second set tiebreaker to defeat Vukadin, 6-1, 7-6(4). Clemson picked up its first point in a battle on Court One where Markov dropped the first set and came back to beat Nasrinidov, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Auburn would pick up the next point to clinch the match after Phillips won a three set battle over Chérié Lignière, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. The teams split the final two points. Bladelius overcame a loss in the first set to defeat Bojarski, 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 but F. Blaydes won tiebreakers in the first and third sets to outlast Plunger, 7-6(2), 5-7, 7-6(3).

DOUBLES (FINISHED 1, 3, 2*)

1. F. Blaydes / B. Blaydes (AUB) defeated Markov / Bladelius (CU), 6-1.
2. Heng / Phillips (AUB) defeated Vukadin / Chérié Lignière (CU), 7-6(4).
3. Farzam / Plunger (CU) defeated Kennedy / Bojarski (AUB), 7-6(5).

SINGLES (FINISHED 3, 2, 1, 4*, 6, 5)

1. Markov (CU) defeated Nasridinov (AUB), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
2. B. Blaydes (AUB) defeated Vukadin (CU), 6-1, 7-6(4).
3. Heng (AUB) defeated Farzam (CU), 6-4, 6-4.
4. Phillips (AUB) defeated Chérié Lignière (CU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
5. F. Blaydes (AUB) defeated Plunger (CU), 7-6(2), 5-7, 7-6(3).
6. Bladelius (CU) defeated Bojarski (AUB), 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4.

PREVIEW – CHARLOTTE

Clemson returns home to the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8 for the 16th meeting between the Tigers and the Charlotte 49ers. Clemson holds a 12-3 all-time advantage but comes in having lost the last three meetings dating back to 2018. The teams met for the first time in 1979 where No. 17 Clemson took care of Charlotte 7-2. From the first meeting in 1979 to 1999, the Tigers outscored Charlotte 91-6 over the first 12 games in the series. The two teams have not matched up since 2022, where Charlotte defeated the Tigers 4-3. The match will be streamed on TrackTennis and live stats will be made available through iOnCourt. 

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