AUBURN, Ala – No. 4 Auburn is set to host ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday and Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama. The Tigers will face Tulane in the opening match Saturday at noon CT, while Nevada and Florida State will meet Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.
The winners of Saturday’s matches will face off at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, while the losers will compete at 10 a.m. CT.
“One of our goals is to win the National Team Indoor Championship, and if we don’t take care of Tulane, we’re not going to have the opportunity to do that,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “We’ve tried to play a lot of matches to best prepare ourselves.
“We got through last year and were able to qualify, and that really set up our year. Making the indoors is a big deal from a rankings standpoint because you basically get three shots at top-10 teams once you get there. The path to get there is much better at home. Playing at home is an advantage because we’re used to our conditions and can sleep in our own beds.”
If Auburn wins both matches over the weekend, it will qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, scheduled for Feb. 6-10 in Chicago. The Tigers have qualified for National Indoors in each of the past four seasons.
Auburn enters the weekend with a perfect 7-0 record and is coming off a midweek victory over Georgia Tech on Tuesday. Senior Ekaterina Khairutdinova earned the SEC’s first Player of the Week honor on Wednesday after winning all five of her singles matches in straight sets and all five doubles matches to begin her Auburn career.
Tulane has opened the season with an 0-2 record following road losses to No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 25 Baylor. Nevada is 1-1 this season, while Florida State enters the weekend with a 1-0 record.
Auburn women’s tennis trading cards will be available to fans in attendance at both Auburn matches throughout the weekend while supplies last. Live video and live scoring for all matches during ITA Kickoff Weekend will be available at AuburnTigers.com. More fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
Auburn players in the rankings (ITA)
Singles:
Ashton Bowers – No. 27
Ava Esposito – No. 28
Alice Battesti – No. 90
Natalie Outcalt – No. 119
Doubles:
Ashton Bowers/DJ Bennett – No. 55
Ava Esposito/DJ Bennett – No. 59