AUBURN – The University of North Alabama men's tennis team opened the 2020 season with a pair of losses at Auburn on Friday. The Lions dropped the opener 6-1 before falling 4-0 in the second match at the Yarbrough Tennis Center on the AU campus.

In the first match, Auburn took the early lead by sweeping doubles play. Victories at No. 4, No. 6 and No. 5 singles gave the Tigers the overall win before both teams decided to play out the remained of the matches. Auburn increased its lead to 6-0 with singles wins at the No. 3 and No. 2 positions before the Lions avoided the sweep.

Playing in his first match for UNA, Cian Maguire recorded the win at the top spot to make the final score 6-1. The sophomore from Waterford, Ireland notched the 6-3, 6-4 win over the Tigers' Tom Wright.

In the nightcap, Auburn (2-0) completed the double-header sweep with a 4-0 victory. After securing the doubles point with victories at all three spots, the Tigers posted straight-sets win at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 1 positions.

"I'm extremely proud of the effort the guys put on the courts today," said UNA head tennis coach Brice Bishop. "This was a great way to kick off the season by playing an SEC team like Auburn. I though the effort was outstanding. I'm proud of Cian for closing out his match in the opener. We also had some solid play in doubles. We just ran out of gas a little late in the day. This is exactly what we needed to see where we are and know what we need to do in order to improve as the season moves on."

The Lions will play at another SEC team next, traveling to face Ole Miss on Jan. 15. The teams are scheduled to play a double-header, beginning at 3 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center in Oxford, Miss.