May 13, 2000
STANFORD, Calif. - The 30th-ranked Auburn men's tennis team outlasted 35th-ranked California (12-11) 4-3 in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships on Saturday morning at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
The Tigers snapped a 3-3 tie after sophomore Tiago Ruffoni (Porto Alegre, Brazil) needed three sets and two-and-a-half hours to outlast Cal's Ben Miles (Atherton, CA/Menlo School) at No. 4 singles. Ruffoni won the final five games of the third set to post a 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-1 victory.
"This was a great win," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "It came down to the last match in the third set. Ruffoni was tougher mentally and pulled out the win."
The Tigers (15-9) will now meet the winner of Saturday afternoon's match between #1 Stanford (22-1) and #54 Northwestern on Sunday at noon at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium. The winner of Sunday's second round match advances to the 2000 NCAA Men's Tennis Team Championships in Athens, Georgia on May 20-23.
Cal opened the day by posting a big comeback to capture the doubles point. The turning point in doubles competition came at No. 3, where Cal's John Paul Fruttero (San Marino, CA/San Marino HS) and David Tzou (Tucson, AZ/University HS) overcame a 5-2 deficit to defeat Marcel Mizerski (Warsaw, Poland) and Estevam Strecker (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil) 8-5.
The teams then split the first four singles matches to give California a 3-2 advantage. However, Auburn's Andre Boz (Caxias Do Sul, Brazil) defeated Scott Kintz (San Diego, CA/The Bishop's School) 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5 singles and Ruffoni prevailed at No. 4 singles to send Auburn into the second round.
#30 Auburn 4, #35 California 3
Singles
No. 1 - John Paul Fruttero (C) d. #35 Stephen Huss, 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 - #75 Georges Matijasevic (A) d. #88 Erik Dmytruk, 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 - Robert Kowalczyk (C) d. Mark Kovacs, 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 - #89 Tiago Ruffoni (A) d. Ben Miles, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-1* (deciding match)
No. 5 - Andre Boz (A) d. Scott Kintz, 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 - Estevam Strecker (A) d. Andrey Vingradsky, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
(California wins point)
No. 1 - #20 Stephen Huss/Mark Kovacs (A) d. #22 Erik Dmytruk/Scott Kintz, 8-1
No. 2 - #44 Robert Kowalczyk/Ben Miles (C) d. Georges Matijasevic/Tiago Ruffoni, 8-5* (clinched point)
No. 3 - John Paul Fruttero/David Tzou (C) d. Marcel Mizerski/Estevam Strecker, 8-5
Records - #35 California 12-11, #30 Auburn 15-9.