Auburn University men’s tennis team will host Georgia Tech and the College of Charleston at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, this weekend. Auburn will face Georgia Tech, outdoors, at noon CT, followed by the College of Charleston on the indoor courts at 5:00 p.m.
CT. Live video of the Tigers’ first game and live stats from both games will be available at AuburnTigers.com. Fans in attendance could receive a complimentary Auburn tennis shirt and Auburn tennis keychain while supplies last.
Bobby Reynolds, Auburn head coach, explained: “It was a tough weekend for us, but a humbling weekend. You go in knowing you have tough opponents whether you win or lose, with all four teams around the top 25. I think that we had opportunities we didn’t take and many started in doubles and moved up to singles in both games I was pointing out to these guys when we met as a team that a point or two here or there makes the difference a lot of times in sets or in matches.” On this weekend’s two rivals, Reynolds said, “Georgia Tech is a spitting image of the Duke team.
They are very strong in 1, 2 and 3 in singles and doubles. The places we need to win are 4, 5 and 6, where we have more experience. They’re playing a bunch of young guys in that bottom half, so that’s where we need to make sure we’re ready to show our maturity. Charleston will come in hungry and energetic to play an SEC team and it’s a team we don’t have never played before.
We have to be ready for it. The hardest part of playing that second game is the physicality and mentality of our kids, reset and start over. That’s what we’re trying to build with these doubleheaders: give the kids more games and more time on the court to work on their game, but also to make them tougher, so when they get to the third set, they’re not mentally out of action.” The Tigers will enter Sunday looking to bounce back after suffering two tough losses to top tier sides at the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
As reported by the Auburn University website, Georgia Tech currently holds a 5-2 record, with all five wins coming at home. Similar to Auburn, the Yellow Jackets lost both games during ITA kickoff weekend at Stanford and Pepperdine.
Andres Martin, who is ranked 72nd in the nation in singles, has started every one-court game for the Rambin’ Wreck and holds a 5-2 doubles record so far this season, including a recent win over Pepperdine’s No. 31 Daniel De Jonge .
They will fight Georgia State at home on Friday night before making it to the plains.
About Auburn University
Auburn is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest in the state.
Auburn University’s sports teams are known as the Tigers and compete in Division I-A of the NCAA and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Auburn has won 19 intercollegiate championships (including 17 NCAA championships), three of them in football (1913, 1957, 2010), 8 in men’s swimming and diving (1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 ), 5 in women’s swimming and diving (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007), 2 in equestrian (2008, 2011), and one in women’s track and field (2006).
Auburn has also won a total of 70 Southeastern Conference titles, 51 men’s and 19 women’s. Auburn’s colors are orange and blue, chosen by George Petrie, the head coach of the college’s football team, inspired by the colors of his alma mater, the University of Virginia.
Auburn was founded on February 7, 1856 during the presidency of Franklin Pierce, as East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts school affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1872 the college became the first public university to benefit from the Morrill Act and was renamed the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. Photo credits: Auburn University website
