AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's tennis team will kick off Southeastern Conference play this weekend with a pair of home matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Tigers (7-3), ranked 48th in the latest ITA release, will host No. 30 South Carolina at 3 p.m. CT Friday, then take on Florida at noon Sunday. Admission is free to all home Auburn tennis matches.
"South Carolina is one of the most competitive teams in the SEC," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "We know they're going to come after us. Florida, obviously, is one of the powerhouses in the SEC and on the national scale for years. I hope our players look across the net and realize that those are two teams we can compete against, and those are definitely two teams we will earn opportunities against. It's just going to be about us capitalizing on those windows of opportunities."
Auburn is coming off three matches at the Blue-Gray National Classic in Montgomery last weekend where the Tigers picked up a win over Arizona Friday before falling to No. 19 Wake Forest and Yale Saturday.
Senior Taylor Russo leads the way in singles for the Tigers, ranked No. 78 nationally. She owns a 14-5 overall record and a 4-3 mark in dual match play, all at the No. 1 spot. Senior Georgie Axon owns a 7-0 mark in dual match play and is 20-5 overall on the year. In doubles, Russo and freshman Selin Ovunc are the nation's No. 9-ranked team with a 14-4 overall record and a 6-2 mark at the No. 1 spot in dual match play.
South Carolina, the defending SEC Tournament champion, is 4-4 on the year. The Gamecocks split a doubleheader at home Sunday, defeating Coastal Carolina and falling to No. 13 Oklahoma State. The Gamecocks boast three ranked singles players – No. 20 Megan Davies, No. 42 Mia Horvit and No. 125 Emma Shelton – along with a pair of ranked doubles teams in No. 12 Shelton/Silva Shinellato and No. 59 Horvit/Davies.
Florida enters the weekend at 3-2 in dual match play. The Gators downed Georgia State 7-0 on Saturday in their last match. They will open league play at Alabama Friday before visiting The Plains Sunday. The Gators have one ranked doubles team in No. 51 Layne Sleeth and Marlee Zein, and three ranked singles players in No. 49 McCartney Kessler, No. 68 Sleeth and No. 113 Victoria Emma.
Links to live scoring and live video (if outdoors) are available on the women's tennis schedule page at AuburnTigers.com.
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