Feb. 7, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The No. 12 Auburn women's tennis team will be traveling to Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis. to take on Pepperdine at 3:30 p.m. C.T. on Friday in the opening round of the ITA Team National Indoor Championships. The tournament will take place Friday through Monday.
Being one of the biggest collegiate tennis tournaments of the year, participating in the event is an honor in itself. The event will be single elimination, but each team is guaranteed to play three matches. In case of a loss before playing three matches, the remaining two matches will be considered as consolation only.
Auburn is one of the top 16 teams in the country that will be competing. To qualify for the tournament, Auburn defeated Tulane 4-0 on Jan. 27 and No. 17 Miami 4-2 on Jan. 28 as a part of ITA kickoff weekend. The depth of the SEC this year will also be displayed as Auburn is one of six SEC teams in the tournament, which is more than any other conference has competing.
Auburn has gotten off to a good start for the second year in a row, currently sitting at 6-1. Coach Lauren Spencer has two players ranked in the ITA top 100 in singles, one being sophomore Taylor Russo (No. 86) and the other being freshman Jaeda Daniel (No. 49). Auburn will also be taking the No. 47 doubles tandem to the tournament in Russo and senior Alizee Michaud.
The Tigers' next home action will be against Michigan State at noon C.T. and Samford at 6 p.m. C.T. on Saturday, Feb. 17. All home action will take place at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, and admission is free.