AUBURN, Ala. – The 20th-ranked Auburn women's tennis team puts its unbeaten home record on the line Saturday as rival Alabama visits the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Match time is set for noon CT.
The Tigers (8-2, 3-1 SEC) are coming off a split weekend with a hard-fought 4-3 loss at No. 10 Vanderbilt followed by a 4-2 victory at Kentucky.
"Both teams pushed us, we expected that," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "Any road SEC team is going to be incredibly difficult and challenging. I was proud of the way we responded to a difficult result at Vanderbilt. We were able to respond much better to adversity (at Kentucky). So much of tennis is momentum. It's a sport where momentum is constantly changing. How you treat yourself, how you respond to misses is going to dictate how you play as the match progresses.
"It was really neat to see the girls in a hostile environment at Kentucky – we were indoors, really difficult place to play, the courts are fast, the fans are loud – and it was nice to see the players respond the way they did. There's no doubt this team will fight. I'll never count us out of any fight."
With highs in the upper 50s/low 60s in the forecast and a minimal chance of rain, it is expected that the match will be played outdoors, and fans are welcome to attend. Fans are reminded that they must wear a face covering at all times and practice appropriate social distancing while at the facility.
"It's definitely something we're excited about," Lilley said. "We always look forward to a match against Alabama. They're definitely a competitive team. This conference is absolutely loaded. Everyone's been beating up on each other all year, which is no surprise. I definitely expect a battle. They're very well-coached, they compete incredibly hard. They're going to disrupt us and play aggressive. They're going to put us in situations that will make us better, and as long as we embrace that, we'll definitely earn opportunities against Alabama."
Auburn continues to be led by the third through sixth positions in its singles lineup as those four spots have put together an 11-2 record in SEC play. Graduate student Georgie Axon is 4-0 in SEC play and 9-1 overall in the spring season, dropping just one set in her last nine matches while playing primarily at the No. 4 position. Freshman Adeline Flach has also come up big at the No. 6 position, delivering the clinching win at Kentucky after rallying from 1-5 down in the first set; she is 2-1 in SEC play.
Alabama (9-5, 0-4), ranked 44th in the ITA team rankings, enters the week having dropped its first four SEC matches. Auburn did not face Alabama in 2020 as the global pandemic shut down the season just two days before the match was to be played. The teams met twice in 2019 with Auburn earning a 4-3 non-conference win at the Blue-Gray Classic and the Crimson Tide prevailing 4-2 in an SEC match in Tuscaloosa.
Live stats and live video will be available at AuburnTigers.com. For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
No. 20 Auburn set for rivalry match with No. 44 Alabama
