The Auburn men's tennis team will host Georgia Tech Sunday in a 1 p.m. match at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Weather permitting, it will be the Tigers' first outdoor action of the spring season.
The Tigers are now 2-1 on the season after two weekends of play; Georgia Tech comes in at 2-0 after a doubleheader win over Kennesaw State Thursday.
"They're a very strong team but a young team, similar to us," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds says in previewing the Yellow Jackets. "They're playing five redshirt freshmen – guys who got to play a half-season last year – along with one new freshman who came in January. They're very good in doubles – their coach was top 20 in the world in doubles, so fundamentally, they know how to play doubles. They're going to be very aggressive on the net. They're going to move a lot. They're going to take second serves and rip them down the line, and they're going to play with energy. We need to execute like we did against USF, changing some of our high-percentage plays to maybe a little bit lower-percentage plays, because we have to offset what they're going to do.
"It's going to be different for us also because we hope to be playing outside. I truly believe we are a better outside team – the courts are slower and bounce more – at the end of the day that's what we're used to playing on and that's how we thrive."
Auburn has captured the doubles point in each of its first three matches. In singles play, Jan Galka, Maxwell Giddens, Tad Maclean, Finn Murgett and Tyler Stice have each posted multiple wins this spring.
All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (1717 Richland Road, Auburn). Fans wearing face coverings are welcome to attend any matches played outdoors; fans may want to bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating to remain socially distanced. If weather moves the match indoors, only participants and officials will be admitted.
