AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn men’s tennis will open its SEC slate at home on Saturday, hosting No. 15 Florida before facing The Citadel at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Tigers will battle the Gators at noon CT and the Bulldogs at 5 p.m. CT.
“I’m happy that we had this past weekend off to give us a lot of time to go from the indoor season to the outdoor season,” Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. “I think this sets up well for us to have 12 good days outdoors leading into Florida. They’re a tough team and have had a great start to the spring, so we have to be ready. As I always say, doubles is going to be very important to us, so coming out with a lot of energy, getting that doubles point and competing from No. 1 to No. 6 will be key. They are strong from top to bottom.”
Auburn will enter Saturday after a long layoff, last competing on Feb. 6 at Clemson. Auburn’s 5-2 upset victory in that match helped the Tigers move to No. 30 in the latest ITA rankings released Wednesday and earn a spot inside the top 25 of the UTR College Team Rankings.
The top Auburn doubles team of Billy and Freddy Blaydes holds a 4-1 dual-match record this spring and secured the doubles point with a 6-1 win at the No. 1 position against Clemson. In singles, Nicholas Heng impressed at the No. 3 position, posting a 6-4, 6-4 win over Matisse Farzam. Heng is 5-1 in dual matches this spring and 9-5 overall this season.
The Gators enter their SEC opener with a 6-3 overall record. Florida qualified for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in January by defeating No. 23 Kentucky and No. 13 Columbia during ITA Kickoff Weekend. At ITA Indoors, the Gators fell to No. 6 Mississippi State before earning victories over No. 16 Clemson and SMU. Florida leads the all-time series against Auburn 46-15.
The Citadel is 0-8 this season and 0-2 in Southern Conference play. Auburn has played The Citadel six times, winning all six matches.
Fans in attendance at either match Saturday will receive free Publix desserts while supplies last. Live video and live scoring for both matches will be available at AuburnTigers.com. Additional fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
Auburn in the rankings (ITA):
Singles:
84- Manel Lazaro
86- Billy Blaydes
Doubles: