AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's tennis team will open the 2020 dual match season at home Saturday with a doubleheader at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Auburn will take on Central Arkansas at 9 a.m., followed by a match against UAB at 3 p.m. The Bears and Blazers will face each other at noon. Admission is free for all Auburn home tennis matches.
"We have a big Saturday coming up," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "I think we'll have a fluid lineup and move some players around, but there's not one spot where we're not strong. That's what I love going into the spring, having six players that can compete at every spot in the lineup. I think they're incredibly excited to play."
The Tigers are coming off a successful fall tournament campaign that saw them compile a 72-45 record in singles and 27-23 in doubles. Highlighting the fall was a tournament victory for the doubles team of senior Taylor Russo and freshman Selin Ovunc at the ITA Southern Regional Championships in October. The Tiger tandem enters the spring season ranked No. 9 nationally with an 8-2 record. Additionally, the doubles team of senior Georgie Axon and junior Madeline Meredith is ranked 59th entering the spring.
Ovunc and Russo also posted strong records in singles play, as did sophomore Yu Chen. Russo, ranked 79th nationally in singles, leads the way at 10-2. Chen is 15-3 on the year in singles and enters the spring ranked 123rd nationally. Ovunc and senior Georgie Axon each recorded a 13-5 mark in singles play heading into the dual match season.
Central Arkansas played two matches last weekend, going 1-1 with a loss to Oklahoma State and a win over Oral Roberts. This is UAB's first match of the season. Auburn faced both opponents last season, earning 4-3 victories in each match.
Live scoring will be available for both Auburn matches, and live video will be available if the matches are played outside. Links to both are available on the schedule page at AuburnTigers.com.
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