AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn returns home to the Yarbrough Tennis Center for a Friday doubleheader vs. nationally ranked Florida State at noon and against The Citadel at 5 p.m. The Tigers are 4-0 at home this season.
"This weekend is going to be a great test for us," Auburn coach Bobby Reynolds said. "Florida State and Georgia Tech will end up in the top 25 if not higher at the end of the year. We are going to hopefully have a lot of fan support Friday coming out to help us.
"The guys are playing with a lot of energy, passion, and excitement. They have a lot of fight, and they are a lot more vocal this year and I think that is paying off. We have challenged ourselves at the beginning of the year more than we have in the past. We have had a lot of success against teams this year where there were a lot of sets where we are ahead or behind. Facing that scoreboard pressure at different times throughout the match and as a whole sets us up well coming into this weekend.
"We have won seven of seven doubles points; you don't find that very often, and the doubles point is so important. We are having success at many different positions at many different times during the matches. That is going to be key going forward."
The Auburn doubles team of Tim Dollman and Michael Durham, the ITA Southern Regional runner-up during the fall season, is ranked No. 55 in the latest Oracle ITA national rankings.
Auburn is 6-1 for the spring season, while Florida State is 6-2 and ranked No. 22 in both the Oracle ITA ratings and the UTSA/Tennis Channel poll. Ranked singles players on the Seminole roster are Alex Knaff (56) and Rana-Roop Singh Bhullar (108). The Citadel is 2-5 before its Friday morning match at Point University.
On Sunday, the Tigers travel to Atlanta for an 11 a.m. match at Georgia Tech; the Yellow Jackets' Andreas Martin is ranked No. 75 nationally in singles.
Friday, lucky fans at the Florida State match can enjoy free pizza. All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (771 Yarbrough Farms Blvd., Auburn) and admission is free.