AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's tennis team kicks off the 2021 spring season Sunday when the Tigers travel to Greenville, S.C., to face Furman. The match is slated for a 9 a.m. CT start at the Mickel Tennis Center.
"We're really excited to get out and compete," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "We're feeling really good about the team that we have. Furman will be tough. They're a seasoned team with a lot of upperclassmen. They're definitely a team that can push us. We don't have anyone on our schedule that can't push us and challenge us, so I'm really excited to play a team of their caliber to kick off our year."
Auburn looks to build on a successful fall season where the Tigers posted a 31-24 record in singles with all matches coming against SEC competition.
"For us, it was just about being grateful to the administration and the SEC to have the opportunity to compete in the fall," Lilley said. "And to see us progress the way that we did, in regards to how we controlled our controllables, how we managed our moments … I think it was really good to see the progress we made. I was incredibly pleased with where we finished."
The Tigers enter the season with two ranked singles players and one ranked doubles team. Sophomore Selin Ovunc comes in at No. 62 in singles, and graduate student Taylor Russo is ranked No. 99. Paired together in doubles, Ovunc and Russo are the nation's 11th-ranked team; they posted a 16-6 overall record last season and an 8-4 mark in dual matches.
Ovunc and Russo are among seven returning letterwinners for the Tigers. Seniors Georgie Axon, Madeline Meredith and Lindsay Song, junior Yu Chen and sophomore Carolyn Ansari return for Auburn in 2021. The Tigers also welcome freshmen Adeline Flach and Anastasia Astakhova, along with junior Fresno State transfer Shir Azran.
"We have a really, really deep squad this year," Lilley said. "I fully anticipate the lineup to continue to change. Everyone's going to earn opportunities. What we'll tell the girls before the match on Sunday is that this is where we start, it isn't where we finish. Everybody will have that opportunity to put themselves where they would like to play and where they deserve to play."
The Tigers posted an 8-6 mark in dual match competition during the shortened 2020 season and was ranked No. 42 in the final published ITA ranking. Lilley enters her second season as the Tigers' head coach, and assistant coach Raquel Atawo begins her first season on The Plains.
Furman went 13-4 last season and was ranked as high as No. 35 nationally. Auburn is 9-0 all-time against the Paladins; the last meeting was a 4-3 Auburn win in 2005.
Live scoring is available at FurmanPaladins.com; a link can be found on the schedule page at AuburnTigers.com.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn women's tennis opens 2021 spring season at Furman
