University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Auburn
Men's Tennis Central: Auburn
March 29, 2018 | Men's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The No. 19 Tennessee men's tennis team kicks off an SEC home weekend with a matchup against Auburn on Friday night at Goodfriend Tennis Center.
The Vols (16-5, 5-2 SEC) will look to follow up a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over No. 14 Georgia on Sunday, in which sophomore Scott Jones fought off four match points to keep UT alive. The Tigers (10-12, 0-6 SEC), meanwhile, are looking to pick up their first conference win of the season. Auburn won its most recent match, defeating Alabama State 5-0 on Sunday.
Admission is free to all regular-season matches. Fan parking will be in Lot SC-40 (across Cumberland Ave. from Walmart) and lot N-12 (off cumberland).
For more news and notes:
LAST TIME OUT: The Vols earned a statement win last Sunday by beating Georgia for the first time since 2011. After the Bulldogs won the doubles point, both teams traded wins in singles to make the score 3-2 Georgia with the results on Court's 5 and 6 yet to be decided. The streak appeared all set to continue, as Scott Jones got down 0-40 at 4-5 in his third set.
However, the sophomore from Perth, Australia came through in the clutch, and held serve to tie the set at 5-5. Jones rode the wave of momentum to a 7-5 third set victory and knotted the match at 3-3. On Court 6, fellow sophomore Luca Wiedenmann finished off his match with a 6-3 third set victory of his own to clinch the win for the Vols.
The win also marked just the fourth time the program has won in Athens since 1990.
SERIES AGAINST AUBURN: Tennessee is 39-17 against Auburn in the all-time series. The Vols have won 11 of the last 13 matchups. The Tigers won last year's meeting in Auburn by a score of 5-2.
IN THE RANKINGS: The Vols moved up to No. 19 in the latest ITA Collegiate Rankings, which is the highest the program has been ranked since Feb. 2015. This marks the fourth week this season in which UT has held a spot in the Top 25.
Junior Timo Stodder is the nation's 16th ranked singles player coming into the weekend. The Berlin, Germany native has played every match at No. 1 this season, compiling a 25-8 overall record and a 13-4 record in dual matches. Stodder defeated 55th ranked Emil Reinberg of Georgia in three sets last Sunday.
UT's top doubles pairing of junior Preston Touliatos and senior Luis Valero hold the No. 15 ranking in the latest ITA release. The duo is 8-1 this season.
Auburn has one player ranked in singles: No. 109 Matteo DeVincentis. New individual rankings will be released April 3.
UP NEXT: The Vols complete their SEC home weekend with a Sunday afternoon match against No. 12 Mississippi State.
Players Mentioned
