AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn men's tennis team opens SEC play this weekend with home matches Friday and Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Auburn, 10-6 on the season, hosts Texas A&M (6-3) Friday at 3 p.m., in the conference opener for both squads. The Tigers entertain No. 18 LSU (11-1) Sunday at noon.
"We're looking forward to the SEC season. This is what we've been working for; this is what we've been training for; this is what we've been playing matches for," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said.
"Week in and week out, we're going to have a great opportunity to knock off people who are ahead of us. I hope the guys understand they can go out and play with freedom and clarity.
"I look for good things this weekend. We have two good chances at home to play teams we match up well with competitively. It's going to start with the doubles for us, as it has most of the year. If we win the doubles point, we're usually successful in the match. That's going to be key throughout the whole SEC schedule."
In the latest Oracle/ITA rankings, Texas A&M has three players ranked in singles: Valentin Vacherot (#47), Barnaby Smith (#66) and Juan Carlos Aguilar (#121). For LSU, Shane Monroe is No. 112 in singles and the doubles tandem of Rafael Wagner and Joey Thomas is No. 45.
Auburn was previously scheduled to play Tennessee State Sunday at 5 p.m., but TSU has defaulted that match.
Fan promotions include a Fan of the Match drawing for all SEC events and an Auburn yo-yo giveaway Sunday while supplies last. All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn) and admission is free.