No. 15 Men's Tennis Heads to No. 18 Auburn
4/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 17, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 15th-ranked men's tennis team (18-6, 6-4 SEC) hits the road for its final dual match of the regular season, traveling to Auburn to take on the No. 18 Tigers (12-8, 5-5 SEC) on Saturday, April 18 at 5:00 p.m. (CST). The match will take place at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
"The season-ending regular season match against Auburn always has a lot at stake and this year is no different," said head coach Billy Pate. "Both teams seem to bring their best and the intensity and energy level with be great. This is a great rivalry, and we have a lot of respect for their program. The last several years each match has gone down to the wire, and I'm sure this will be a battle as well."
The Crimson Tide enters the match with Auburn after splitting its final two home matches last weekend. Alabama could not overcome dropping the doubles point to No. 10 Florida on Friday, going down 5-2, but bounced back on Senior Day to defeat then-No. 24 South Carolina 4-0. Prior to the win against the Gamecocks, the Tide had lost three straight matches to top 10 ranked opponents. On the season, Alabama is 5-3 in true road matches, including 3-2 in conference play. The Tide continues to have two players ranked nationally in singles, with junior Saketh Myneni climbing up to No. 24 and senior Mathieu Thibaudeau moving up to No. 75. Alabama also has three doubles pairs in the national rankings again this week. Thibaudeau and fellow senior Dan Buikema sit at No. 33, while Thibaudeau is also ranked No. 59 with freshman Ricky Doverspike. Myneni and senior Billy Mertz round out the rankings for the Tide, checking in at No. 83.
The Tide has dominated the Tigers over the years, owning a 54-29-1 lead in a series that began in 1949. Auburn has not defeated Alabama since collecting a 5-2 win during the 2004 season. The Tigers enter the match with a lot of momentum, defeating both Florida and South Carolina last weekend. As a result, Auburn jumped inside the top 20 of this week's poll, moving from 27 to 18. Prior to those two victories, the Tigers had lost three straight matches. On the season, Auburn is 5-4 at home, but only 2-3 against conference foes. The Tigers have two players ranked nationally in singles, with senior Alex Tsyrenov coming in at No. 35 and sophomore Tim Puetz checking in at No. 118. Tsyrenov and Puetz are also the only doubles pair ranked for Auburn, currently 10th in this week's poll.
Live stats will be available for this match by .
Players Mentioned
