AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn men's tennis team opens its 2020 dual match season hosting the North Alabama Lions in a doubleheader Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Matches begin at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Weather permitting, the matches will be played outdoors.
"We're excited to get the season started," assistant coach Chris Hooshyar said. "We've got a lot of new faces and a young team. We're focusing on being incredibly physical and incredibly disciplined in our matches, and we're ready to put our practice into action starting Friday."
Auburn returns six players from last season: seniors Michael Durham and Tim Dollman, juniors Diego Chavarria, Tad Maclean and Matteo DeVincentis and sophomore Anders Fry. Dollman and Durham were the ITA Southern region runners-up in doubles in the fall, and Dollman advanced to the regional final in singles also, earning him a place in the ITA National Fall Championships in November.
Debuting for Auburn in dual match play will be transfer Tom Wright (from Arizona State) and freshmen Spencer Gray, Tyler Stice and Finn Murgett.
These will be the first of 12 non-conference matches for the Tigers before heading to the Blue-Gray Invitational in Montgomery February 21-22 and then beginning SEC play at South Carolina on February 28.
All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn) and admission is free. Lucky fans will receive free t-shirts at Friday's matches.