The Auburn men's and women's tennis teams will head to Montgomery Feb. 24-26 for the annual Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic.
In its 63 years, the tournament has gained prestige as some of the most talented student athletes from top-ranked programs all over the country compete in the weekend-long competition.
Fourteen schools will be represented this year, with Auburn and the University of Alabama the only schools representing both the men's and women's categories.
The Auburn women's team will go into the tournament fresh off its win against the University of Louisiana Monroe. The Tigers improved to 4-1 with the victory.
First-year women's coach Lauren Meisner said the team would be hard at work this week to correct whatever flaws have been evident in previous matches.
"We just got back home from a road trip, so first we got some good rest in," Meisner said. "We are, in our practices, being very specific with things that we need to fine-tune before the match, being very specific in our needs for singles and doubles.
"We are getting our bodies refreshed and ready to go to play three matches this weekend."
Junior co-captain Plamena Kurteva said with a few minor tweaks this week in practice she hopes to bring her game as close to perfect as possible.
"We are just working on playing a little bit better in the match and staying aggressive," she said.
Kurteva said she believes hard workouts and repetition will help her improve her abilities on the court.
"We work out twice a week and we run two or three times a week depending on our schedule," Kurteva said. "I repeat every single exercise a lot so I can get confident."
Kurteva's doubles partner, junior Paulina Schippers, said her comfort with Kurteva has led to a great chemistry between the two, which she believes has been a big reason for their success.
"I've played with Plamena a lot since freshman year, so we know each other pretty well and we have a very good chemistry, and that gives us confidence," Schippers said.
Schippers said her familiarity with Kurteva's game has paid off and helped them win matches.
"We know our games pretty well, so we know when to pump the other one up," Schippers said. "We know what the other one wants to do, so that helps us on the court."
Schippers said she has prepared for the tournament like any other match.
"I just keeping working hard like I always do," she said.
This will be the first Blue-Gray tournament the women's team has participated in under Meisner, who said she's heard about the crowd turnout in the past and expects this year's tournament to be no different.
"Our expectations and hopes are that we have a very good crowd," Meisner said. "I've been told there are a lot of Auburn supporters in Montgomery, so we hope they come out and support us, get to know me as a coach and get to know this team even better."
Schippers said a win in the Blue-Gray Classic would be huge for her.
"It's a very special tournament because most of the people (in attendance) are Auburn fans," Schippers said. "It would be very special to be able to win it knowing that we have a lot of support out there."
The women's tennis team will begin conference play next week as the Ole Miss Rebels come to Auburn March 3.
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