AUBURN, Ala. – No. 17 Auburn is set to host their final home match of the season on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. against No. 60 Arkansas. Friday's match will also be the team's annual senior day where seniors Jan Galka and Spencer Gray will be recognized prior to the match. The Tigers will then hit the road to battle rival Alabama on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
"Arkansas is a tough team," said Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds. "They've struggled a little bit in the SEC this year because it's a new team. They have a new head coach and a lot of transfer guys. We have to be ready because we have a target on our back. They look at us as a top program and think that if they can get this win, they will probably be in the NCAA Tournament."
Arkansas will come into Friday's match with a 12-10 overall record but have not been able to capture a win in SEC play through nine conference matches. The Razorbacks, who have five first-year players on this season's roster, will look to turn their momentum around, as they have lost each of their last nine matchups.
Arkansas has one doubles team ranked by the ITA, as Adrien Burdet and Melvin Manuel are currently the 70th ranked doubles team in the nation. The duo have a 5-6 dual match record and have dropped each of their last four matches.
After the senior day match at home on Friday, Auburn will travel to Tuscaloosa to face rival No. 56 Alabama at 1 p.m.
"Rivalry matches bring so much more emotion," Coach Reynolds said about the matchup against the Crimson Tide. "They lost to Vanderbilt last week at did not look good at all, but a couple of weeks prior they went to Florida and won. We have to be ready for them because when they show up and have their best stuff, they are probably a top-20 team."
Alabama, who has lost each of their last six, is currently 9-13 this season and 1-8 in SEC play with their only conference win coming over No. 20 Florida.
Alabama is led by Filip Planinsek on the singles court, who is ranked 76th in singles by the ITA. Planinsek currently holds a 17-16 overall singles record and a 12-9 record in dual singles matches.
Planinsek and German Samofalov play at the top of the Alabama doubles lineup and are ranked 78th in the country by the ITA. They hold a 2-2 dual match record including a recent win over No. 59 Nemanja Malesevic and Carles Hernandez of Mississippi State.
Friday's senior day matchup against Arkansas is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Live video and live scoring of the match will be available online at AuburnTigers.com. Auburn's road match against Alabama will be played at 1 p.m. CT at The University of Alabama Tennis Stadium. Live video and live scoring of the match will be available online at RollTide.com.
Auburn will host the 2023 SEC men's tennis championship tournament April 19-23 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. All-tournament ticket books are on sale now at aubtix.com. Daily tickets may be purchased on site.
