AUBURN, Ala. ? The 52nd-ranked University of South Alabama women’s tennis team will head to the Plains to take on No. 37 Auburn Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Auburn Intramural Tennis Facility. The match will be the final regular season road match for the Jaguar women and the final home match for the Tigers.
South Alabama (14-8) enters the match with the tigers after splitting a pair of matches this past weekend. On Saturday, the Jags fell to No. 28 VCU (5-2) but bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Old Dominion on Sunday. Junior Adrianna Solarova, ranked 51st by the ITA, and sophomore Michaela Babicova continue to lead the club in singles competition. Solarova is 23-6 on the season and 16-4 in dual match play, while Babicova is 26-6 overall and 18-4 on the spring. Senior netter Dijana Stanic has also been on fire as of late, winning her last 12 matches. She also has 20 victories on the season and a 15-6 mark in dual match play.
Babicova and Stanic also pace South Alabama in doubles play. The duo is 24-7 overall and 17-4 this spring.
After splitting a pair of SEC matches this past week, Auburn (10-8) fell one spot in the latest ITA Rankings. The Tigers defeated Arkansas 5-2 on Friday, but came up short against LSU, falling 4-3 to the Tigers on Sunday in Auburn.
In singles action, Auburn is led by freshman Fani Chifchieva. Chifchieva is currently ranked 27th in the nation with a 13-5 record. Sophomore Alex Haney has also been having a strong spring with a team-best record of 16-2. Haney has won 12 of her last 13 matches. The Grayson, Ga., native along with her doubles partner Melissa Koning are ranked No. 14 in the country and pace the Tigers with a 12-6 mark.
The series between the Jaguars and the Tigers is tied at nine entering the match on Thursday. USA took the last meeting in the series, a 5-2 victory in Mobile a season ago.
Following the match versus the Tigers, USA will return home to close out the regular season against north Florida on Saturday at 2 p.m.
