AUBURN, Ala. – The 11th-ranked Auburn women's tennis team will open Southeastern Conference play this weekend with a pair of home matches against top-30 opponents.
The Tigers will take on No. 22 Vanderbilt at 3 p.m. CT Friday, then host No. 28 Kentucky at 11 a.m. CT Sunday. Both matches will be played at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, and admission is free. For Friday's match, fans can pick up a free Chick-fil-A sandwich while supplies last.
"Vanderbilt is a hungry team, a perennial top team every year in SEC women's tennis," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "We know their kids will be playing some really good tennis. They can do some different things, but we also know our aggressive tennis, our willingness to come forward will be really effective.
"Kentucky, they play aggressive. We will have to match their aggressive tennis with our own aggressive tennis. They're a really feisty team as well. Across the board, the SEC has some of the most competitive teams in the country when it comes to the standard they set for themselves."
Auburn had last week off after closing out non-conference play Feb. 20 with a 5-2 win over Tulane. Following a strong week at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in early February, the Tigers have continued to climb the national rankings, coming in at No. 11 the last two weeks.
"A lot of rest, recovery, a lot of treatment, just trying to get their legs back a little," Lilley said of the Tigers' weekend off. "Last week we pushed pretty hard after our match against Tulane, we knew we could put in a quality week of practice knowing they would have the weekend off. A well-rounded week for sure."
The Tigers have three ranked singles players headed into this weekend – No. 52 Ariana Arseneault, No. 60 Selin Ovunc and No. 104 Carolyn Ansari – and one ranked doubles team in No. 44 Arseneault and Ovunc.
Vanderbilt (8-1) enters SEC play on a five-match winning streak. The Commodores are led by No. 43 Anna Ross and No. 92 Anessa Lee. Last season, the 10th-ranked Commodores squeaked by Auburn in Nashville, 4-3.
Kentucky (11-1) will take on Alabama Friday before traveling to the Plains for Sunday's match. The Wildcats have one ranked singles player in No. 89 Carlota Molina, and the 60th-ranked doubles team in Fiona Arrese and Florencia Urrutia. Auburn defeated Kentucky last season in Lexington, 4-2.
Live video and live scoring for both matches are available at AuburnTigers.com.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
No. 11 Auburn opens SEC play with Vandy, Kentucky
