March 22, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn men's tennis team (9-10, 0-4 SEC) hosts No. 21 Kentucky Friday at 6 p.m. and will entertain No. 19 Vanderbilt (1 p.m.) and Alabama State (4:30 p.m.) in a Sunday afternoon doubleheader at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
"I'm looking for the guys to come out and compete," Auburn coach Bobby Reynolds said, as the Tigers conclude a stretch of seven consecutive matches against ranked opponents. "Every weekend is a great opportunity and that's the way we have to look at it. Win or lose, we have to take from each match what we did and be ready to go the next time. We keep putting in the work on the practice days so we can embrace the match days."
In the latest Oracle/ITA national rankings, Auburn freshman Matteo De Vincentis is ranked No 109 in singles. Kentucky (11-5 overall, 4-1 SEC) is ranked No. 21 as a team. The Wildcats' Ryotaro Matsumura is ranked No. 26 in singles, and Kentucky has two ranked doubles teams - Cesar Borgois and Gus Benson (31) and Trey Yates and Enzo Wallart (73).
No. 19 Vanderbilt (14-3 overall, 4-1 SEC) has three players ranked in singles - Cameron Klinger (22), Daniel Valent (56) and Baker Newman (100), as well as the No. 46 doubles team, Klinger and Billy Rowe. Alabama State is 9-7 overall but leads the SWAC with a perfect 5-0 conference record.
For Friday's match, fans will receive Aubie tumblers while supplies last, and on Sunday, fans will receive a free Auburn Tennis t-shirt. All Auburn home matches are held at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn), and admission is free.