Auburn Heads To Birmingham For In-State Match With UAB - AuburnTigers.com

Auburn Heads To Birmingham For In-State Match With UAB The Tigers (0-2) hold a 19-7 series mark over the Blazers (2-1)

Head Coach Eric Shore

Feb. 5, 2010

AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 28 Auburn men's tennis team travels to Birmingham for a dual with in-state rival UAB on Sunday. The match is set for 12 p.m. at the Lakeshore Tennis Center.

The Tigers (0-2) hold a 19-7 series mark over the Blazers (2-1), seeing Auburn victorious in the last nine meetings between the two schools. Last season, Auburn hosted UAB and came away with the 6-1 win.

"UAB is a team that we play every year and will always be a tough match for us at the start of the season," head coach Eric Shore said. "We hope that our team can continue to gain experience and build more confidence and we're hoping this weekend's match with UAB will help us."

UAB BLAZERS
The Blazers are currently 2-1 in the early season and are coming off a 7-0 win over North Alabama on Wednesday. Prior to Sunday's match, the team will take on Georgia State indoors at Samford University on Friday.

UAB freshmen Danny Manlow and David Zimmerman lead the squad, both holding a perfect 3-0 record in singles play.

AUBURN AT ITA KICK-OFF WEEKEND
The No. 22 Auburn men's tennis team participated in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournament Saturday and Sunday, hosted by Alabama. The Tigers fell 4-2 to No. 18 Duke on Saturday and lost to No. 23 Arizona, 4-0, Sunday.

"It was a really tough weekend for our young team," said head coach Eric Shore. "It was a real eye-opener for the four young guys and they saw the level of play that this team needs to get to. Both matches gave this team more experience and will make us stronger."

Auburn (0-2) faced the Blue Devils in a tough, six-hour match on Saturday afternoon, falling 4-2 to the 18th-ranked team in the country. Junior Tim Puetz led the team, picking up a pair of wins in the match. The sixth-ranked singles player topped No. 17 Henrique Cunha in three sets (6-7, 6-3, 6-3). He and partner Alex Stamchev came away with the close 8-6 victory over No. 8 Reid Carleton and Cunha.

The Tigers took on Arizona on day two of the tournament, losing 4-0 to the Wildcats. Arizona opened the day strong, winning two of three doubles matches to take the doubles point. No. 6 Puetz and Stamchev were locked in a 5-5 set with Pat Metham and Borja Malo before play was stopped.

UP NEXT
The Tigers host their first home dual match of the season, taking on Troy at the City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarbrough Tennis Center on Wednesday. Start time is set for 1:30 p.m.