Auburn Opens 2011 Spring Season at ITA Indoor Qualifier - AuburnTigers.com

Auburn Opens 2011 Spring Season at ITA Indoor Qualifier Tigers face No. 8 Michigan Saturday

Taylor Schriemann

Jan. 28, 2011

AUBURN, Ala. - The 2011 Auburn women's tennis season kicks off this weekend as the Tigers travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the 2011 ITA Indoor Qualifier on the campus of the University of Michigan. The 59th-ranked Tigers open with a 1 p.m. match against eighth-ranked Michigan Saturday. Auburn concludes the tournament Sunday against either No. 46 North Carolina State or No. 18 Southern California.

"We're very excited to get the spring season started," head coach Tim Gray said. "We have a tough road ahead for us this weekend as all the teams in this tournament are very strong. We hope to get a good indication of where we stand and couldn't think of a better way to start the spring with quality opponents."

The Auburn women's tennis team is comprised of one junior, three sophomores and four freshmen. Junior Taylor Schriemann and sophomores Plamena Kurteva, Paulina Schippers and Caroline Thornton are set to lead freshmen Maria Arechavaleta, Olivia Bennett, Jacqueline Kasler and Emily Newton this season.

Up Next
The Tigers travel to Tallahassee, Fla., for a dual against No. 14 Florida State, Feb. 11. The match is set for 3 p.m. and will be played at Scott Speicher Tennis Center.

2010 Fall Season
The young Auburn squad kicked of the 2010-11 season hosting the SEC Fall Coaches' Classic at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, Sept. 10-12. Over the course of two months, the team competed in five other fall tournaments. Highlighting the fall was the play by freshmen Olivia Bennett and Jacqueline Kasler at the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships, Oct. 1-10. The duo opened the tournament with a doubles victory over Florida State's Katie Rybakova and Noemie Scharle in the first round, 8-2.