AUBURN, Ala. – No. 18 Auburn will make two stops in the state of Mississippi over the weekend, playing 33rd ranked Ole Miss on Friday in Oxford and Mississippi State on Sunday in Starkville.
"We learned a lot during our last two matches," said Auburn Interim Head Coach Lester Cook, "It's true that you learn more from your losses than from your wins. We haven't played a team that has beat us yet, we are just beating ourselves. When we get out of our own way and do what we know we can do, we have no problems."
Despite the team suffering two losses on Friday and Sunday, Auburn sophomore DJ Bennett kept the Tigers in both of their matches with two singles wins at the No. 3 position and a doubles point clinching win against South Carolina. Bennett has now won seven consecutive singles matches and five straight doubles matches alongside partner Ariana Arseneault.
Auburn will be without sophomore Angella Okutoyi for the second weekend in a row, as she concludes her time at the 2024 African Games in Ghana.
Ole Miss improved its overall record to 9-4 and its conference record to 3-2 with an impressive shutout win over Kentucky on Sunday. Rachel Krzyzak and Andrea Nova, the 64th ranked doubles team in the country, have played every match at the top of the Rebels' doubles lineup and have posted a 5-5 record in dual matches.
Last season, Auburn defeated the Rebels in a dramatic match by a 4-3 final score. With the match tied at three, Okutoyi claimed a win on court five that required a tiebreaker in the final set to deliver the Tigers to a team victory. Ole Miss responded later in the season by defeating Auburn in its first match of the SEC Championship 4-3 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
After playing the Rebels on Friday, Auburn will travel east to face Mississippi State at the AJ Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville on Sunday. The Bulldogs, who will face Alabama on Friday before their match against the Tigers, are currently above .500 this season at 9-8. SEC play has not been kind to Mississippi State, as they have dropped all five conference matches.
Auburn has had recent success against the Bulldogs, winning each of the last three meetings including a 6-1 victory at the Yarbrough Tennis Center last season.
Auburn's match on Friday against Ole Miss is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CT at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center where live video and live scoring will be available online at olemisssports.com. The Tigers and Bulldogs will play at noon CT in Starkville. Live video and live scoring will be available online at hailstate.com.