DURHAM, N.C. – No. 9 Auburn women’s tennis is set to face No. 8 Duke in the super regional round of the NCAA Championship on Friday at 4 p.m. CT at Ambler Tennis Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Friday will mark Auburn’s fifth super regional appearance in program history.
“We’ve played many teams like Duke all year,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “Every weekend we’ve played teams as talented as Duke. The only difference is that a trip to Waco is on the line. I think that we have handled the big moments pretty well, and when we haven’t, we’ve learned from it.
“I told the girls that I want to make this like an SEC match. These other conferences may not have the competitiveness and the edge that playing in the SEC brings. We want to bring that SEC edge to the match on Friday night and lay it all on the line. I think that if we compete well at all six singles positions and all three doubles spots, we’ll put ourselves in a good spot.”
The Tigers reached the championship’s round of 16 by winning both matches during the NCAA Auburn Regional at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Auburn defeated South Carolina State by a 4-0 score in the round of 64 on May 2 before taking down No. 24 Wisconsin 4-1 in the round of 32 the next day.
The second round victory over the Badgers also marked Auburn’s 25th win of the season, tying the 2017 team for the most in program history. The Tigers have won eight of their last nine matches overall.
Duke enters Friday’s match with a 23-3 overall record and a 13-1 mark at home, with the lone home loss coming against Ohio State on Feb. 14. The Blue Devils hosted regionals at Ambler Tennis Stadium, where they defeated Bryant and Florida Atlantic to advance to the super regionals.
Duke has six singles players ranked by the ITA, including No. 25 Emma Jackson and No. 26 Irina Balus. The Blue Devils also have a ranked doubles team that regularly plays at the top of the lineup: No. 20 Elizabeth Coleman and Irina Balus.
Friday will mark the eighth meeting between Auburn and Duke. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 6-1, but the Tigers earned their first win in the series last season during ITA Kickoff Weekend, defeating then-No. 15 Duke 4-2 to punch their ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
Live video and scoring of Friday’s NCAA super regional match will be available at GoDuke.com.