AUBURN, Ala. – After being selected to host the NCAA Opening Rounds for the fourth time in program history, No. 9 women’s tennis will begin regional play with a first-round match against South Carolina State at 1 p.m. CT Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama.
If the Tigers win Friday, they will face the winner of the morning match between 2-seed Wisconsin and 3-seed Clemson in the second round of the NCAA Championship at 1 p.m. CT Saturday.
𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 🦅
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) April 28, 2025
The NCAA Opening Rounds will take place right here on the Plains as the Tigers have earned the highest seed in program history! 🎾#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/ixhMaPbMD8
“I’m really excited to be hosting,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “It definitely makes life easier staying at home and not having to go on the road. Getting the home-court advantage is big for sure, especially with these teams coming in. We’re going to have to bring our best to beat these teams, but I think if we do the right things and compete at a high level, we’ll put ourselves in a good position to progress.”
Auburn earned the highest NCAA Championship seed in program history, No. 9, on Monday after posting a 23-6 overall record and an 11-4 record in SEC play. Of the Tigers’ 23 wins this season, seven came against teams ranked in the ITA top 15 and two inside the top five.
Auburn junior DJ Bennett will enter her third consecutive NCAA Championship on Friday as the fourth-ranked singles player in the nation. Bennett, who holds a 26-10 overall singles record this season, picked up the highest-ranked win of her career during the SEC Championship semifinals, defeating No. 2 Mary Stoiana of Texas A&M 6-1, 6-4. She and Ava Hrastar have also won their last two doubles matches at the top of the Tigers’ lineup and hold an 18-11 overall record this season.
Upset complete on court one ✅
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) April 19, 2025
DJ Bennett defeats Mary Stoiana 6-1, 6-4 to give Auburn a 3-2 match lead 🚨#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/4MCA08J7RZ
South Carolina State, the No. 4 seed in the Auburn Regional, earned its NCAA Championship bid by winning the MEAC Tournament. The Bulldogs went 15-4 this season and posted a perfect 6-0 record in conference play.
No. 24 Wisconsin enters the championship with an 18-5 overall record. The Badgers went 10-3 in the Big Ten and fell in the second round of their conference tournament to UCLA.
Clemson, ranked No. 34 by the ITA, begins the regional with a 14-11 overall record and a 4-8 mark in the ACC. The NCAA Championship bid is the program’s first since 2018 and the first under head coach Boomer Saia.
Live video and scoring of all three matches at the NCAA Auburn Regional will be available at AuburnTigers.com. Admission to all matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center is free, and more spectator information is available on the Regional Central page.