The Auburn men and women's tennis teams will begin Southeastern conference play after a historic weekend in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic in Montgomery.
The men's team will play UGA in Athens March 4 at 2 p.m. and Tennessee in Knoxville March 6 at 1 p.m.
The women's team will play its matches in Auburn, facing UGA March 4 at 2:30 p.m. and Tennessee March 6 at 1 p.m.
After finishing 0-3 in the Blue Gray Classic, the women's team now has a record of 2-7.
Although the tournament did not end with expected results, head coach Tim Gray said the team learned valuable lessons that will be put into practice against Georgia and Tennessee.
"We're starting to see an improvement in doubles," Gray said. "Overall, I've gotta say I think we're better today than we were on Thursday. Playing in tournaments like this definitely gives you experience."
Junior Taylor Schreimann agreed, saying last weekend's tough matches will help prepare them for upcoming SEC matches.
"Overall, we learned a lot, and it prepared us for our conference matches that are about to start, and hopefully we can just go up from here," Schreimann said.
The No. 13 Georgia women's team (4-1) defeated Clemson 5-2 Feb. 12, handing Clemson its first loss of the season.
The No. 18 Tennessee women's tennis team (6-3) is coming off a 4-1 loss Feb. 20 to No. 12 Miami.
Gray said although many of the girls on the team have been stepping up, it will take an execution of leadership by the entire team to put more points on the board and defeat Georgia and Tennessee.
"We've gotta get six players playing and grinding and really putting a total team effort from start to finish to give ourselves a chance," Gray said. "We've gotta get everyone across the board on the same page."
Schreimann said starting the matches strong and creating momentum will be a pivotal aspect of succeeding in SEC matches.
"We need to take advantage of the early points and early games," Schreimann said. "That way it won't come down to a third set every time. It'll give everyone that initiative to pull out their matches sooner."
The No. 21 Auburn men's tennis team (7-3) finished the weekend with a loss to No. 15 Pepperdine in the Blue Gray Classic championship match.
To prepare for Georgia and Tennessee this weekend, head coach Eric Shore said the doubles need to continue improving.
The No. 13 Georgia men's team swept Furman 7-0 in its last match Feb. 26.
UGA senior Drake Bernstein won the 100th singles match of his career, and Georgia's victory advanced the team's record to 8-3.
Tennessee's men's tennis team is currently ranked No. 2 and won its last match against Wake Forest, 6-1.
"We're playing two really, really tough teams to start off the conference schedule," Shore said. "Probably two of the three best teams in the conference."
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