AUBURN, Ala. – No. 4 Auburn women’s tennis will host Grand Canyon and Middle Tennessee State on Sunday in its final two matches before Southeastern Conference play begins. The Tigers will face Grand Canyon at 10 a.m. CT, followed by Middle Tennessee State at 2 p.m. CT at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama.
“The idea of this Sunday is to get more matches and compete, maybe mix up some doubles pairings and see some different teams before SEC play begins,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “In case we get in a position where we have to switch it up, we want to know people have played matches together. The biggest thing is that we’ve done a lot of individual stuff this week. We’ve been working hard, but we’re a blue-collar team.”
Auburn enters the doubleheader with a 13-1 record following the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, which took place Feb. 6-9 in Evanston, Illinois. The Tigers made the deepest run in program history at the event, reaching the semifinals. Auburn defeated Northwestern and No. 9 NC State before falling to top-ranked Georgia, the eventual champion.
Sophomore Ashton Bowers had an impressive run at the event, recording two straight-set victories against NC State and Georgia, as well as earning a doubles win with Ekaterina Khairutdinova in all three matches.
Grand Canyon is 3-3 this season with a match scheduled against UAB on Saturday. The Antelopes have wins over DePaul, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton. Middle Tennessee State will enter Sunday’s match on a four-match losing streak with a 1-4 overall record.
Live video and live scoring of both matches will be available at AuburnTigers.com. Cotton candy will be provided to fans in attendance at both matches while supplies last, and the team will host a free kids clinic on the courts following the Middle Tennessee State match. More fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
Auburn players in the rankings (ITA)
Singles:
Ashton Bowers – No. 30
Ava Esposito – No. 31
DJ Bennett – No. 58
Angella Okutoyi – No. 84
Doubles:
Ashton Bowers/DJ Bennett – No. 69
Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat – No. 76
Ava Esposito/DJ Bennett – No. 84