No. 29 Auburn returns home to the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn for three home matches this weekend.
The Tigers host No. 35 Mississippi State in a 3 p.m. match Friday; it's Kids Day and there will be free face painting.
Sunday, Alabama entertains No. 24 Texas A&M at noon and Alabama A&M Sunday at 4 p.m. Fans will receive free koozies at the first match and free pizza at the second match while supplies last.
"Mississippi State is a great team," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. "They're defined by the way that they fight – they are very, very tough to take down quickly. They're willing to put an extra ball on the court, they're willing to scrap, they're willing to make it ugly. We have to be ready for a physical bout on Friday.
"This year, they're having success more at the top of their lineup, so going in, we've got to be successful at the bottom and also put up an unbelievable fight at one and two, which we usually do with Tyler (Stice) and Jan (Galka).
"Texas A&M is the reverse – they've struggled at one, two and three during the SEC season and had success at four, five and six. In both scenarios, our entire lineup has to be ready to put up a fight, no matter who or where they're playing.
"It was important with our SEC schedule to make sure we got off to a good start. Confidence is a scary thing and as our guys continue to win and gain confidence, winning those SEC matches fuels them and they want more.
"With six matches left, they're not satisfied, but they definitely understand the magnitude of what they're doing. They're a Top 25 team and now they're starting to see it and believe it themselves. We've put ourselves in a very good situation."
Auburn is 15-4 for the spring season, 4-2 in SEC play and ranked No. 29 in the latest ITA team ratings and No. 25 in the Tennis Channel/USTA Top 25. No. 35 Mississippi State is 12-8 overall and 2-5 in conference action.
No. 24 Texas A&M is 17-9 overall and 4-2 in the SEC; the Aggies are No. 20 in the Tennis Channel/USYA Top 25 and play at Alabama on Friday. Alabama A&M is 2-9 and plays Saturday at Jackson State.
In the latest ITA individual rankings, the Tigers continue to have three ranked players in singles: Tyler Stice (91), Tad Maclean (111) and Jan Galka (115). Maclean and Finn Murgett are ranked No. 60 nationally as a doubles tandem. Maclean, with 66 career doubles wins, now ranks ninth all-time among Auburn career leaders in that category.
Mississippi State has two ranked singles players, Florian Broska (39) and Nemanja Malesevic (72). Noah Schachter of Texas A&M is ranked in singles (56) and doubles (57 with Austin Abbrat).
All Auburn home tennis action is at the Yarbrough Tennis Center (1717 Richland Road, Auburn) and admission is free.
