JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – In their season-opener against NCAA DI foe Jacksonville State, the Auburn University at Montgomery men's tennis team lost to the Gamecocks 6-1 on the road on Wednesday afternoon.

"Today was all about closing out the opportunities and hold the momentum in important points," said head coach Yair Banuelos. "We had our shot to win the doubles point but couldn't close out big opportunities and hold the lead. In singles, we played with more confidence, but we have to take advantage of opportunities as well. We definitely played better than the last match. We will work on closing out those games."

AUM was unable to secure a double point after two close contests feature pairings of David Mulas and Joao Guariente and Muhamad Bedwan and Nino Portugal. Mulas and Guariente dropped their game 4-6, while Bedwan and Portugal were much more competitive, dropping a close contest 6-7.

Meanwhile, in singles play, Guariente was able to win his second-consecutive singles game, this time playing in the second slot. He was able to beat JSU's Guillermo Agost 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to secure the only point of the match for the Warhawks.

Singles:
Joaquin Vallejo def Muhamad Bedwan 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Joao Guariente def Guillermo Agost 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
Aljza Kaplja def Nino Portugal 7-6, 6-2
Thomas Norwood def David Mulas 6-4, 6-2
Maj Tomac def Giovanni Bellio 6-3, 6-1
Jordi Blanchar def Jonathan Judy-Hansen 6-4, 6-0

Doubles:
Kapla/Norwood def Bedwan/Portugal 7-6
Agost/Blanchar def Mulas/Guariente 6-4
Vallejo/Tomac def Bellio/Judy-Hansen 6-1

AUM will be home for the first time in 2021 on Saturday when they play host to familiar NAIA foe Middle Georgia State. The action from the AUM Tennis Complex is slated to begin at 1 p.m.

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