AUBURN, Ala. – The 18th-ranked Auburn women's tennis team continues a three-match home stand this weekend, hosting No. 36 Mississippi State and No. 30 Ole Miss at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Tigers (9-2, 4-1 SEC) take on Mississippi State at 3 p.m. CT Thursday, then host Ole Miss at noon Saturday. Both matches are expected to be played outdoors, fans are welcome to attend, and admission is free. All spectators in attendance must wear a face covering at all times and practice appropriate social distancing in the seating area.
"They're tough," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said of this weekend's opponents. "Women's tennis in the SEC is really tough. These teams can play. They're incredibly competitive, incredibly talented. Ole Miss is a team we've seen a lot over the last couple of years, and we've seen a bit of Mississippi State. These are definitely two teams that will push us, and two teams that are very competitive and very well-coached."
At 4-1 in league play, Auburn is off to its best start to an SEC season since 2018, when the Tigers also began 4-1 in conference. The Tigers' national ranking of 18th is also the team's highest since that season, when Auburn climbed as high as No. 13 in the nation.
The Tigers are coming off a 4-1 win over Alabama Saturday that saw Auburn claim the doubles point for the second straight match, then secure the win with a pair of straight-sets wins from Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach, along with a three-set victory from Selin Ovunc.
"To be able to play a rivalry match like that where there's so much history is a really special experience for the players," Lilley said of the Alabama win. "It's special for me as a coach as well. Nothing beats it. It was a very fun match, to say the least.
"We played good, solid, consistent tennis, but our energy can't be dictated by the score. And at times, I thought we played the score too much rather than playing to improve. As we practice and as we prepare, they're going to continue to play better. I absolutely want to give them that credit – it's a rivalry match, it's a difficult match – but I do expect a little bit more.
"They're tough, they're tenacious, and there's no doubt in my mind that they're going to go out there and work. But I also want them to enjoy it a little bit more. They work too hard in practice not to enjoy competing."
Axon is 10-1 in singles for the spring and 5-0 in SEC play; since dropping her first match of the spring at Furman, she has won 10 straight and lost just one set in that stretch. Flach has also been impressive in her freshman season, posting an 8-2 mark in singles, 3-1 in SEC play.
Mississippi State (9-5, 1-5) dropped a pair of matches to Texas A&M and LSU last week. The Bulldogs have one ranked singles player – No. 69 Emma Antonaki – and one ranked doubles team, the 41st-ranked tandem of Magda Adaloglou and Tamara Racine.
Ole Miss (6-5, 2-3) defeated LSU 4-0 in their only match last week; their scheduled match at Texas A&M was postponed. The Rebels have a pair of ranked doubles teams – No. 24 Alexa Bortles and Sabina Machalova, and No. 44 Anna Vrbenska and Tereza Janatova – and Machalova is ranked 39th in singles.
Live stats and live video links for both matches are available on the women's tennis schedule page at AuburnTigers.com.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
No. 18 Auburn ready for MSU, Ole Miss this week
