Auburn University announced on Apr. 30 that its top-ranked women’s tennis team will host the NCAA Auburn Regional at the Yarbrough Tennis Center this Friday and Saturday. The event will begin with Miami (FL) facing North Florida at 10 a.m., followed by Auburn competing against Bryant at 1 p.m. in the round of 64. Winners from these matches will meet in the round of 32 on Saturday afternoon.
The hosting opportunity is significant for Auburn, which was chosen as the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Championship, marking its highest seeding in program history. Head coach Jordan Szabo said, “Being a top eight host is what you want, and it’s a goal that we had at the start of the year.” Szabo added, “What an honor for the team and the girls. They’ve been spectacular all season long, and I really feel like we’re playing our best tennis later in the year.”
Auburn enters regionals with a record of 32-3 after sharing the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and capturing its first SEC Tournament title with wins over Florida, Texas A&M, and LSU. Senior DJ Bennett has led recent efforts with four consecutive singles victories and six doubles wins alongside partner Ava Esposito; Bennett was named SEC Championship MVP for her performances.
Bryant University will be Auburn’s first opponent after earning their spot by winning the Ohio Valley Conference Championship; they hold a season record of 17-7 with five straight wins entering regionals. Miami is seeded second in this regional bracket and holds an ITA national ranking of No. 29 after reaching ACC quarterfinals this season; North Florida comes into regionals undefeated at 25-0 following their Atlantic Sun Conference tournament victory.
Attendance to all matches during the NCAA Auburn Regional is free to fans, who can find additional information as well as live video streams and scoring updates through AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
Szabo said about upcoming competition: “Bryant and North Florida won their conferences, so they’re champions just like us… Miami’s a blue-blood type program… Paige (Yaroshuk-Tews) is a legendary coach, and she’ll have a team fired up and ready to go.”
