AUBURN, Ala. – Coming off two huge wins and carrying their highest ranking in four seasons, the 14th-ranked Auburn women's tennis team faces three home matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center this weekend.
The Tigers (4-0) will take on Georgia Tech at 3 p.m. Friday, then play a doubleheader against Clemson (11 a.m.) and Alabama A&M (3 p.m.) Sunday. Admission to all home Auburn tennis matches is free. Free pizza will be available for fans while supplies last at Friday's match with Georgia Tech.
"I love that we have Georgia Tech, Clemson and Alabama A&M coming in the weekend before we head to ITA Indoors because I know we're going to have two weeks of exceptional matches," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "Matches we're going to get better, we're going to be pushed, and will continuously help us improve so we can play our best tennis come May. That's what we're preparing for. We don't want to peak in January."
Auburn had a stellar weekend in Orlando last week, defeating Arizona State and No. 10 UCF to earn a spot in next week's ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Tigers fought from behind Friday to eke out a 4-3 win over the Sun Devils, then controlled the match from start to finish Saturday to sweep the Knights 4-0.
"It was definitely two very different matches," Lilley said. "Against Arizona State, we were behind basically 95 percent of the match – fighting, clawing, trying to dig our way into being competitive. And we ended up on the winning end of that. UCF, we were in the driver's seat. So it's amazing what a 24-hour swing can do. It was completely different circumstances, and I was so proud of how our team handled both."
With those wins, Auburn moved up to No. 14 in the ITA rankings, their highest since midway through the 2018 season.
Georgia Tech (0-2) dropped a pair of matches in its ITA Kickoff last weekend, falling to Old Dominion and Michigan. The Yellow Jackets boast three ranked singles players in No. 38 Kylie Bilchev, No. 69 Ava Hrastar and No. 85 Carol Lee. Tech also has the 12th-ranked doubles team in Bilchev and Hrastar. Auburn fell on the road at Tech last year, 5-2; the Jackets lead the series 16-11.
Clemson is 4-0 headed into the weekend; they host Coastal Carolina on Friday before making the trip to the Plains. The Tigers have two ranked players in No. 70 Cristina Mayorova and No. 84 Ali DeSpain. Auburn defeated Clemson on the road last year 4-3; Clemson owns a 10-4 advantage in the all-time series.
Alabama A&M (0-1) fell to Mercer in its only match so far this season. The Bulldogs face Middle Tennessee on Saturday before heading to Auburn Sunday.
Live stats will be available for all three matches. If weather is suitable, matches will be played outdoors and live video will be available; otherwise, indoor matches will not have video available. If play is moved indoors, fans are reminded of Auburn University's mask policy currently in place.
Three home matches for No. 14 Tigers this weekend
