AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn men’s tennis is set to open its 2025 dual match schedule on Friday with a home doubleheader against Mercer and North Alabama at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. First Serve at Yarbrough will begin with the initial match at 11 a.m. and continue with the afternoon match scheduled for 4 p.m. Fans will be treated to a complimentary hot chocolate bar at both matches.
“Our guys are excited,” said Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds. “You can just feel the excitement, not just for them but for the coaching staff as well. Everything we’ve been working for through the fall and over the winter break leads up to Friday.”
Auburn enters the season led by team captains Will Nolan and Billy Blaydes, who both made news during the fall after winning the ITA Southern Regional Championship as a doubles team. The pair posted a 10-3 doubles record during the fall season which included six wins over ranked doubles teams. Nolan and Blaydes became the first Tigers doubles team to take the title since Tim Puetz and Alex Stamchev in 2009 after defeating No. 1 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez in the final. The Auburn duo will begin the season at No. 15 in the national doubles rankings.
Five freshmen are included on the Tigers’ spring roster to begin the dual match season, including Alex Frusina. Frusina was ranked second in the nation for the class of 2024 and ranked highest in the state of Texas according to Tennis Recruiting Network. The Conroe, Texas native will begin the spring ranked No. 95 in singles nationally.
“We have one of the largest teams that I’ve ever had with ten guys and a lot of new faces so it’ll be exciting to put them out on the court,” said Reynolds. “From a nerves standpoint, I think that college tennis is different than junior tennis and pro tennis where you’re just playing for yourself. I think we have a lot of guys on the team that will thrive in that situation, raise their game and the expectations they have for themselves because they’re playing for a team.”
Mercer finished the 2024 season with a 7-13 overall record while North Alabama posted a 16-9 overall record and earned an invitation to the UTR Sports NIT Championship Tournament.
The season opening doubleheader will start with the Tigers and the Bears facing off at 11 a.m. CT followed by Auburn and North Alabama at 4 p.m. Both matches of Friday’s First Serve at Yarbrough will be played at the Yarbrough Tennis Center’s indoor courts where admission is free. Live streaming video and live scoring of each match will be available online at AuburnTigers.com.