It's Senior Day for Auburn men's tennis Friday as the Tigers (6-14, 2-9 SEC) entertain Arkansas (9-11, 3-7 SEC) in a 2 p.m. SEC match at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Tigers are ranked No. 46 in the latest Oracle ITA coaches' poll and No. 49 in the most recent computer rankings. The Razorbacks are No. 26 in the computer rankings and No. 30 in the coaches' poll.
"Our seniors – Diego, Tim and Tom – are a great group of guys that have given so much to this program in different areas: on court, off court, in the locker room – they just give. It'll be exciting for them to play Arkansas. It's a huge opportunity; if we as a team want to go on and play NCAAs as a team, it's a match we have to win, and it's one that will get us over the hurdle," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said.
"We're there. We've put ourselves in a position too many times to be successful, and hopefully all these little things we're doing behind the scenes, off the court will help. A lot rides on this weekend. Our guys know it and they've got to be ready to go on Friday."
The Tigers will salute three seniors in pre-match ceremonies. Diego Chavarria has been part of the men's tennis program since 2017. The native of San Jose, Costa Rica, has posted 23 career wins in singles and 45 in doubles and is a member of the SEC academic honor roll studying industrial and systems engineering.
Tim Dollman transferred to Auburn in 2018 from UAB, where he was the Conference USA freshman of the year. A stalwart in the top half of the Tiger lineup, he has posted 32 singles wins and 20 doubles victories at Auburn. In 2019, he was a finalist in singles and doubles in the ITA Southern Regional and earned a spot in the National Indoor Championships. The native of Cape Town, South Africa, earned his degree in finance in August, 2020, and is working toward a master's degree.
Tom Wright transferred to Auburn in 2019 from Arizona State. During his time at Auburn, he has been a standout in doubles, winning 19 matches in a season and a half, along with six singles victories. The native of Beckenham, Great Britain, is a sociology major with a concentration in criminology.
Auburn's 2020 senior graduate Michael Durham will also be honored at Friday's match. From Macon, Ga., Durham posted 38 wins in singles and 15 doubles victories during his Auburn career (2016-20) and was a 2019 ITA Southern Region doubles finalist. He was a December, 2020, graduate in exercise science.
In the latest Oracle ITA rankings, Auburn's top doubles tandem of Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett have moved up to No. 32 nationally, and sophomore Tyler Stice is ranked No. 36 nationally in singles. Arkansas's doubles team of Hunter Harrison and Enrique Paya is ranked No. 38.
All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (1717 Richland Road, Auburn). Fans wearing face coverings are welcome to attend all 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.
Friday's match concludes the regular season for the Tigers; the SEC tournament begins April 19 at Arkansas.