AUBURN, Ala. – No. 23 Auburn men’s tennis is set to host No. 7 LSU and No. 16 South Carolina in two pivotal SEC matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn this weekend. The Tigers will face LSU on Friday at 3 p.m. CT and South Carolina on Sunday at noon CT.
“We’ve had great homestands this season, and we’ve been very successful whether it’s indoors or outdoors at home,” Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said. “I’m looking for that comfort in how we play on our courts from an emotional standpoint. From a tennis standpoint, I want us to really buy into the X’s and O’s of what we need to do to be successful.
“LSU is a great team, and they’re top 10 right now. Their top two players are straight off the pro tour top 400, so there are going to be tough matchups, and we have to be ready for that but not play outside our comfort zone.”
Auburn will look to right the ship after a difficult road trip last weekend, dropping matches to No. 17 Oklahoma 5-2 and Arkansas 6-1. The Tigers are 14-5 overall this season, and their 4-4 conference record places them in a tie for seventh in the SEC standings. Auburn remained inside the top 25 in the latest ITA National Team Rankings for the fifth consecutive week Tuesday, checking in at No. 23. The Tigers are also ranked No. 21 in the UTR Sports College Team Rankings released Wednesday.
LSU will enter Friday’s match with a 20-4 overall record and a 6-3 conference record, which is tied for the third-best mark in the SEC. The Tigers earned a statement road win over No. 2 Texas on March 6, which is their only win over a top-25 team this season. LSU dropped its most recent match Sunday to No. 6 Mississippi State 6-1 at home.
LSU leads the all-time series against Auburn 32-19, but Auburn has won each of the last two meetings, including a dramatic 4-3 victory in Baton Rouge to end the regular season in 2025 that was clinched by Nicholas Heng.
South Carolina holds an 11-5 overall record this season and is tied with Auburn at 4-4 in conference play. The Gamecocks snapped a three-match skid that included losses to No. 18 Texas A&M, No. 7 Mississippi State and No. 23 Ole Miss with a 4-2 win over Kentucky on Friday. South Carolina has three ranked singles players on its roster, including No. 15 Lucas Andrade da Silva. Da Silva has played exclusively at the top of the Gamecocks’ singles lineup this season and holds a 10-3 dual match record.
Auburn leads the all-time series against South Carolina 24-20. The Tigers defeated the Gamecocks in 2023 and 2024, but South Carolina won last season’s matchup in Columbia. South Carolina will face Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Friday night before traveling to Auburn for Sunday’s match.
Friday will be Kids Club Day at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, where fans will receive popsicles while supplies last, and a kids clinic will take place on the competition courts with Auburn coaches and players after the match. On Sunday, an Auburn tennis bundle will be raffled off during the match, including a lawn chair, bag, bucket hat and blanket.
Live video and live scoring of both matches will be available at AuburnTigers.com. Admission to all matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center is free, and additional fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
Auburn in the rankings (ITA)
Singles:
40 – Hamza Nasridinov
76 – Billy Blaydes
Doubles: