March 1, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" After winning the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, Auburn women's tennis swept the Southeastern Conference weekly awards as Alizee Michaud was selected as the SEC Player of the Week and Taylor Russo was named SEC Freshman of the Week, the league announced Wednesday.
"We are very proud of Allie and Taylor and how they competed at the Blue Gray," Auburn head coach Lauren Spencer said. "Their contributions to our team have been pivotal to our success this season and being acknowledged by the SEC is well deserved."
Michaud and Russo were instrumental in Auburn's first Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Championship since 1984 over the weekend. Ranked No. 15 in doubles, the duo won in doubles against Tulane to improve to 15-4 on the season.
No. 36 Michaud was selected for her first weekly honors after finishing the weekend with two ranked wins in singles, including No. 11 Gabriella Talaba of Texas Tech. She clinched the match against Denver with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over no. 96 Bianca Mok.
The Orlando native leads the SEC with 25 singles victories on the season, which is tied for 13th on Auburn's singles season wins list.
Russo was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season with two singles wins on the weekend. After clinching the match against Tulane, Russo battled back after dropping the first set to clinch the match against Texas Tech, defeating Sarah Dvorak, 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.
No. 99 Russo leads the Tigers with 22 doubles victories and ranks third with 14 singles wins on the season. She has also clinched five matches this season.
The Tigers will travel to Starkville, Miss. for their SEC opener against Mississippi State on Friday and then head to Ole Miss on Sunday. Auburn will return home on March 11 for a matchup against Tennessee.
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