AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 9 Auburn women's tennis team hits the road for the first time in SEC play, traveling across the state to take on No. 19 Alabama at noon CT Saturday.
The Tigers (11-2, 2-0 SEC) will play just their second true road match of the season, looking to stay unbeaten in SEC play as the league's top-ranked team.
"Everyone we play seems to be incredibly hungry," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "We're always going to get everyone's best shot. We're looking forward to going out there and playing our brand of tennis. I can assure you they'll get our best competitive level.
Last weekend, Auburn took down a pair of SEC foes at home, earning a 4-3 win over No. 22 Vanderbilt Friday then making it a weekend sweep with a 6-1 victory over No. 28 Kentucky.
"I think both matches were complete team efforts," Lilley said. "It's not always going to be the same four that gets the job done. Everybody's going to have their turn, everybody's going to have their chance. Really proud of the way they came out and fought and competed and earned a lot of opportunities against Vanderbilt and Kentucky."
In the most recent ITA rankings, Auburn sophomore Ariana Arseneault stayed at No. 54, junior Selin Ovunc moved to No. 57, and junior Carolyn Ansari was ranked No. 118 in singles. In doubles, Ovunc and Arseneault came in at No. 21.
Alabama (12-2, 2-0) has enjoyed early-season success as the Crimson Tide also earned wins over Vandy and Kentucky last weekend. The Tide are led by No. 75 Loudmilla Bencheikh and No. 102 Petra Sedlackova. The doubles team of Bencheikh and Anne Marie Hiser is ranked No. 70.
Last season, Auburn earned a 4-1 win over Alabama at home with singles victories from Ovunc, Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach. Auburn has won three of the last four meetings with the Tide.
Links to live stats and live video 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.
Rivalry time: Auburn faces Alabama in top-20 match
