STARKVILLE, Miss. – Auburn men's tennis will receive their first SEC road test of the 2023 season as they travel to play No. 18 Mississippi State in Starkville on Thursday afternoon. The Tigers will then stay on the road to face No. 41 Tulane on Sunday.
"This weekend is the defining weekend in my eyes of how the season is going to go," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said about the upcoming matchups. "We play against a Mississippi State team at their place that is a tough place to play, it gets a great crowd. They're very supportive of their team. It's in their culture. They're not going to give you any free points, and from one to six, they're going to bite at your ankles all day long."
The Tigers' conference schedule got off to an encouraging start after knocking off No. 13 Tennessee in a thrilling finish on Thursday and they will look to get that momentum back after falling to No. 9 Georgia on Sunday. One of the bright spots of the weekend was the strong play on the singles court by freshman Billy Blaydes. Blaydes won both of his singles matchups during the first two SEC matches on court six and has now won five consecutive singles matches. The Windermere, England native now holds a 7-2 dual match record.
Another freshman that has been impressive for the Tigers as of late is Alejandro Moreno. Moreno, who has been in the second spot in the lineup the last five matches, defeated Tennessee's Blaise Bicknell in two sets 6-1, 6-3 and took Philip Henning of Georgia, the 17th ranked singles player in the country, to a third set.
The Bulldogs currently hold a 12-2 overall record and a perfect 10-0 record in home matches. Like Auburn, Mississippi State split their conference opening weekend by defeating No. 19 Florida at home on Thursday and falling to rival No. 59 Ole Miss on the road.
Mississippi State junior Nemanja Malesevic, who is ranked 125th in the country in singles, currently holds a 6-5 record and regularly plays at the top of the singles lineup. Junior Carles Hernandez has the best dual singles record on the Bulldogs' roster at 11-1 and has the highest ITA singles ranking at 89th. Hernandez and Malesevic as a doubles team are 8-2 in dual matches and have earned the ranking of the No. 26 doubles team in the nation.
"Fast forward to Tulane, that is another tough place to play," Coach Reynolds said about Sunday's match. "It's going to be hot and humid and it's a different team than the last couple of years. They just came off a win over MTSU on the road. They're a very talented team and we beat them twice last year, so they want to come back and get some revenge."
Tulane, who came in at 41st in Tuesday's ITA rankings, currently has a 6-5 record and has won the last three matches in a row. The lone ranked singles player for the Green Wave is Fynn Kuenkler, who is tabbed at 80th, currently holds a 4-6 dual singles record. Junior Rafael de Alba holds the best singles record on the team at 7-2 and has claimed five consecutive singles victories.
Thursday's match against Mississippi State in Starkville will begin at 3 p.m. CT at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Live statistics and live streaming video of the match can be found at hailstate.com.
Sunday's match against Tulane in New Orleans is scheduled to begin at noon CT at the City Park Tennis Center. Live scoring of the match will be available at ioncourt.com.
