ATHENS, Ga. – No. 16 Women's tennis will begin its quest for the 2024 SEC Championship this week at the Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia. Auburn, the 5-seed, will start the tournament against the winner of Wednesday's match between 12-seed Kentucky and 13-seed Mississippi State on Thursday at 5 p.m. CT.
"I've been telling the team the whole year that with every match and everything we do, we're getting prepared for these postseason tournaments," said Auburn interim head coach Lester Cook. "You can go undefeated all year but if you don't do well in the conference and NCAA tournaments, people don't remember that season too well. I'm excited for it because this is what college tennis is all about. I love when the stakes are high and competition is tough."
Auburn's 9-4 SEC record finished tied for the fourth best in the conference with Tennessee. Since the Volunteers have the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Tigers earned a 5-seed in the SEC Tournament.
In the final weekend of conference play, Auburn fell to No. 11 Texas A&M on Friday before bouncing back to defeat 33rd ranked LSU in Baton Rouge to complete the regular season.
After earning SEC All-Freshman team honors in 2023, DJ Bennett completed the regular season with a team-best 27 singles victories and 24 doubles victories. Her 27 singles wins already ranks in the top-15 in program history for most in a single season.
Playing mostly at No. 3 in the Auburn singles lineup before being moved up to No. 2 later in the season, Bennett has a 17-6 dual singles record and a 11-2 mark against SEC opponents.
Fifth-year senior Carolyn Ansari will enter her final SEC Championship with a 19-10 singles record and a 13-9 doubles record this season. She reached her career-high ITA singles ranking of 6th on April 9 and remained in that spot in the latest rankings that were released on Tuesday.
Auburn defeated Kentucky during the SEC opener on March 1 by a 5-2 score at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Wildcats currently have an 8-14 record and finished conference play with a 2-11 record. Auburn also defeated Mississippi State during the regular season, winning 4-0 on the road on March 24. The Bulldogs hold an 11-15 overall record and earned their first conference win of the season on Sunday over Missouri.
Live video and live scoring of Thursday evening's match will be available online at georgiadogs.com.
No. 16 Auburn to begin SEC Championship run on Thursday
