AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn will hit the road to Norfolk, Virginia to battle Old Dominion University on Friday, then head back home to host Wisconsin on Sunday this weekend. The Tigers will look to continue their positive momentum from Sunday's doubleheader sweep of Georgia Tech and College of Charleston.
"It was an emotional win that's going to be pivotal when we look back at the end of the season, where you have that crossroad where you go one way or the other," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said about Sunday's win over Georgia Tech. "Luckily, our guys came out and showed up and I hope that pushes us down the path we expected at the beginning of the year. It was a must win against a team that I thought we matched up very well against. The emotional side of taking two hard losses at Winston-Salem means you never know how these guys are to respond, but I was very pleased with how they responded on Sunday."
Auburn senior Raul Dobai was able to extend his singles winning streak to four matches on Sunday, as he defeated Elias Shokry of Georgia Tech 7-5, 6-3 on court five and College of Charleston's Matias Gaedechens 6-3, 6-1 on court four. Freshman Alejandro Moreno also had a good day on Sunday, as he went 2-0 in both singles and doubles against the Yellow Jackets and Cougars.
Old Dominion is currently 4-2 on the season featuring wins over Presbyterian, Georgetown, Drexel, and Wisconsin. Their losses were at Pennsylvania and at home against Virginia Tech. In the latest ITA doubles rankings that were released on Wednesday, the Monarch duo of Younes Lalami and Brandon Perez were tabbed at No. 36. So far this season, Lalami and Perez hold a 2-3 dual record and have dropped their last three matches.
Auburn's opponent on Sunday, Wisconsin, holds a 5-1 record with their only loss being against Old Dominion on the road. The Badgers also boast a ranked doubles team, as their duo of Gabriel Huber and Michael Minasyan are currently ranked 21st in the country according to the ITA. Huber and Minasyan have a 3-3 dual record so far this season. In singles play, Minasyan is riding a four-match winning streak and has posted a 4-1 singles dual match record during the 2023 campaign. Wisconsin is scheduled to face Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Friday prior to making the trip down to the Plains.
"We played both these teams last year, and they were both hard-fought matches and both will be good indoors," said Coach Reynolds. "With ODU, they get a couple of guys back who were hurt last year, so we've got to be prepared for that and for a little bit quicker conditions than we're used to at Yarbrough. That's ok, just a matter of playing a bit more physical instead of playing for a longer point. The same with Wisconsin, they will be good all the way through the lineup. They're solid. That's the way I see our team as well, and that will make the match entertaining."
On Friday against Old Dominion, all of the action is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. CT at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. The match will be televised on ESPN+ and live stats for the match will be available here.
On Sunday against Wisconsin, the match will start at noon CT at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama. Live stats for the match will be available at AuburnTigers.com.
