Feb. 2, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn opens its home season in men's tennis this weekend with three matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Tigers (2-1) will host Alabama A&M for a pair of Saturday matches beginning at noon and 4 p.m. On Sunday, Auburn plays host to No. 24 Georgia Tech in a noon match.
"Having Alabama A&M come in on Saturday is going to give our guys the chance to play two matches and use the stuff in match play that we've been working on in practice," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "I'm looking forward to getting a couple of the guys into action who didn't travel with us the first two weekends.
"On Sunday, Georgia Tech is nationally ranked, and they are a tough team for the top on down. At No. 1 singles, they have Chris Eubanks, who's ranked in the top 10 in the country right now. He's an unbelievable player.
"They're a very good team. Our guys have to be ready for playing long points and trying to keep those guys on the baseline and not letting them be on defense the whole time."
The Tigers have used seven players in singles thus far; Edward Nguyen (3-0), Brandon Laubser (2-0), Carles Sarrio (1-0) and Olle Thestrup (1-0) are undefeated in the young season.
In doubles, Auburn's top tandem of Max Hinnisdaels and Conner Huertas del Pino are ranked No. 14 nationally and have a 2-0 record.
As a team, Auburn is 2-1 with road wins over UCF and a 4-0 shutout of Nebraska last Saturday.
"I was happy with how the guys responded against Nebraska to some of the things we talked about," Reynolds said. "It came down to playing consistent tennis and eliminating unforced errors and mistakes."
Saturday, the first 50 fans for the noon match will receive free Auburn Tennis t-shirts and Chick-fil-A sandwiches; at the afternoon match, the first 50 fans will receive free tennis koozies. On Sunday, lucky fans could receive either a t-shirt or a koozie. All home matches are at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn) and admission is free.