Men's tennis announces spring schedule

Yarbrough_Tennis_Center_20200602_edited_SL2_0381Yarbrough_Tennis_Center_20200602_edited_SL2_0381
Shanna Lockwood/AU Athletics

Yarbrough Tennis Center

Fourteen home matches highlight the 2023 Auburn men's tennis schedule, and the Tigers will host the SEC championships in April at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

"I am very pleased with how we planned out the spring 2023 schedule," Auburn heaqd coach Bobby Reynolds, the 2022 ITA Southern Region coach of the year, said. "We will get the opportunity to compete against eight or nine NCAA tournament-level teams before starting our SEC schedule. 

"We are looking to build off the success of last year, and this schedule allows us to be in a great position to do that come the end of April."

Auburn begins play Sunday, January 15, with a doubleheader against Michigan State and Alabama State at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

The Tigers visit Wake Forest, the site of Auburn's NCAA regional appearance last May, for the ITA Kickoff January 27-28, and Auburn will be part of the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic field in Montgomery February 24-25.

Auburn begins the SEC portion of its schedule hosting Tennessee, also a 2022 SEC semifinalist, on Thursday, March 2.

Auburn will host the SEC championships, featuring all 13 conference teams, April 19-23. All home matches are at the Yarbrough Tennis Center and regular season admission is free.

Last season, Auburn finished 21-11 as a team, Auburn's first 20-win season since 2002. After reaching the SEC tournament semifinals and the NCAA tournament second round, the Tigers were ranked No. 23 in the final ITA team ratings and No. 23 in the Tennis Channel/USTA Top 25. The Tigers qualified for the NCAA team tournament for the first time since 2014 and advanced to the regional finals for the first time since 2012.
 
The Tigers placed three competitors in the final ITA national rankings for the 2022 season. The All-America doubles team of Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett finished No. 8 nationally. Advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals this season, they finished with a 20-6 overall record. Murgett and Maclean repeated as All-Americans after finishing the 2021 campaign as national runners-up.

Tyler Stice, a first team all-SEC honoree for the second straight year, completed the season with a No. 23 national ranking in singles. A two-time NCAA singles qualifier, Stice defeated the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked players in April and went 19-13 overall, facing 20 ranked opponents.

The 2023 Auburn spring schedule:

Sun., Jan. 15                        Michigan State                                  Noon
                                              Alabama State                                   5 pm
Thurs., Jan. 19                    Samford                                              
Fri., Jan. 27                          at Wake Forest (ITA Kickoff)            5 pm
Sat., Jan. 28                         at ITA Kickoff
                                                Duke/MTSU                                      
Sun., Feb. 5                         Georgia Tech                                     Noon
                                             College of Charleston                       5 pm
Fri., Feb. 10                         at Old Dominion
Sun., Feb. 12                       Wisconsin                                          Noon
Fri., Feb. 24                         at Blue-Gray Classic
Sat., Feb. 25                        at Blue-Gray Classic
Thurs., March 2                 Tennessee                                            3 pm
Sat., March 4                      Georgia                                                1 pm
Thurs., March 9                 at Mississippi State
Sun., March 12                  at Tulane
Thurs., March 16               Kentucky                                              3 pm
Sat., March 18                    Ole Miss                                               1 pm
                                            Alabama State                                      5 pm
Fri., March 24                     at South Carolina
Sun., March 26                  at Florida
Sun., April 2                       Vanderbilt                                               Noon
                                            Alabama A&M                                        5 pm
Fri., April 7                         Arkansas                                                 3 pm
Sun., April 9                       at Alabama
Fri., April 14                       at LSU
Sun., April 16                     at Texas A&M
 
April 19-23                           SEC Championships (Auburn)
May 5-6                                NCAA Regionals (campus sites)
May 13                                 NCAA Super Regionals (campus sites)
May 17-27                           NCAA Championships (Orlando)