Auburn to Play in the Blue Gray National Classic - AuburnTigers.com

Auburn to Play in the Blue Gray National Classic Tigers stand at 2-4 on season

Paulina Schippers

Feb. 24, 2011

AUBURN, Ala. - Coming off its first two wins of the season, the No. 64 Auburn women's tennis team is headed to Montgomery to participate in the prestigious Blue Gray National Classic. This is the first year the tournament is open to women's teams and Auburn looks to continue its strong form against No. 43 Ohio State Friday at 8:30 a.m. in the first round.

A solid outing in this tournament could set the tone for the rest of the season for the Tigers, who are 2-4 and currently riding a two match win streak

"We're extremely excited to be a part of the Blue Gray Classic," head coach Tim Gray said. "This is one of the premier events in collegiate tennis and I'm hoping our hard work will begin to pay off this weekend. With this great field of teams, we're going to have to stay focused and compete."

Previewing the Buckeyes
Ohio State is currently ranked 43rd in the nation, which is the fifth ranked team the Tigers will have faced in seven dual matches this season. Ohio State is 5-2 and has faced off against two other SEC teams this year. The Buckeyes lost at Tennessee, 6-1, and beat Kentucky in Lexington, 4-3. The Buckeyes are going into the tournament with victories against Penn State (6-1) and William and Mary (7-0) this past weekend.

Last Time Out
Last weekend, Auburn hosted its first home matches of the season Saturday against Alabama A&M and Memphis. Auburn came away with victories in both matches, beating Alabama A&M, 7-0, and Memphis, 4-3. To have success this weekend, the freshman duo of Olivia Bennett and Jacqueline Kasler will need to continue their winning ways from last weekend, were they came up with big wins against both teams.

Blue Gray National Classic
Other teams the Tigers may face this weekend include No. 9 Virginia, No. 19 Notre Dame, No. 22 Oklahoma, No. 36 Alabama, No. 48 DePaul and No. 51 Utah. This year marks the 58th time the tournament was been played, dating back to 1949.