News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
The No. 2 Texas A&M women’s tennis team hosts No. 4 Auburn Thursday at the Mitchell Tennis Center with first serve set for 5 p.m. in a top five SEC showdown.
The Aggies enter the match with an 18-3 overall record and a 10-1 mark in conference play. The Maroon & White are coming off a strong 4-1 victory over No. 10 LSU.
Texas A&M boasts a deep lineup featuring five ranked singles players, led by No. 1 Lucciana Perez, who holds the school record for consecutive SEC regular-season victories with 30. The Aggies also feature No. 43 Mia Kupres, No. 56 Ilinca Amariei, No. 102 Violeta Martinez and No. 124 Lexington Reed. Reed earned her first career ITA singles ranking.
In doubles play, the pair of Perez/Kupres leads the way at No. 18, while Amariei/Martinez check in at No. 54 and Perez/Amariei at No. 74.
Auburn enters the contest with a 26-2 overall record and a 10-1 mark in SEC play, matching Texas A&M atop the conference standings. The Tigers are coming off a 6-1 win over Alabama and bring a loaded lineup featuring five ranked singles players. Headlining is No. 38 DJ Bennett, followed by No. 44 Ashton Bowers, No. 55 Ava Esposito, No. 69 Angella Okutoyi and No. 80 Ekaterina Khayrutdinova. In doubles, the Tigers are highlighted by the No. 10 duo of Esposito/Bennett, along with the No. 21 Okutoyi/Refaat and No. 47 Okutoyi/Esposito.
Texas A&M owns a 16-2 edge in the all-time series winning each of the last nine meetings, including both contests last year
