AUBURN, Ala. – For the first time in more than 10 months, the Auburn women's tennis team will play a home match when the Tigers host Samford Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Match time is set for noon CT.
The Tigers will also hit the road this weekend, traveling to Jacksonville, Fla., to face North Florida at 11 a.m. CT Sunday.
It will have been 328 days since the last time the Auburn women took the court for competition at the Yarbrough Tennis Center – an SEC match against the Florida Gators on March 1, 2020, was the last home event played there before the remainder of the spring season was canceled.
"We're really excited about getting to play at home," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "It will be a good experience without a doubt. It will be good to be home and be in our comfort zone. I fully expect our matches to be competitive, and we will have to bring our best to make it competitive."
Auburn is 1-0 on the season after a hard-fought 4-3 win at Furman Sunday. Taylor Russo, Carolyn Ansari and Adeline Flach picked up singles wins for the Tigers, and Russo/Selin Ovunc and Ansari/Yu Chen earned victories in doubles to secure the win.
"Furman competed really hard, they're a top-40 team," Lilley said. "A top-40 win on the road to open your season is a good effort from the team. It was challenging. It wasn't pretty tennis all the time. The courts were really fast. I'm really glad we were pushed the way we were pushed. That's what we want in the non-conference segment because we know what to expect in the SEC."
Samford will be playing its first dual match of the season. The Bulldogs went 7-6 last year in dual competition.
North Florida faces Flagler on Friday before hosting the Tigers Sunday in their first two matches of the year. The Ospreys went 10-1 last year and currently own a 16-match home winning streak.
With rain in the forecast, Friday's match will be played indoors. Due to health and safety protocols and limited space in the indoor facility, attendance will be limited to participants and officials only. Links to live scoring for both matches can be found on the women's tennis schedule page at AuburnTigers.com.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Women's tennis hosts Samford, travels to UNF this weekend
