Auburn men’s tennis kick-started an incredibly successful day for Auburn athletics with a doubleheader sweep against No. 15 Florida and The Citadel in the opening weekend of SEC play.
The Tigers began by making a statement against a top 15 Florida team, defeating them 6-1 in a closely contested match.
The Tigers established early momentum in doubles play, taking the doubles point and forcing Florida to chase the match the rest of the afternoon. After the teams traded singles courts, Auburn secured the decisive victory in the later singles matches, clinching the upset in front of a home crowd at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The win marked one of the program’s most notable victories of the spring and showed Auburn’s ability to compete with ranked SEC opponents.
Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds has instilled a considerable amount of confidence and belief in his team that has exceeded expectations so far this season.
“I think people may take us lightly, and we go under the radar, but over the last couple of weeks, we have made some statements and opened some eyes to what we are capable of doing,” said Reynolds. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work, and credit to these guys, especially in doubles.
The Tigers were backed by a strong home crowd who carried on the momentum generated by the clinching of the doubles point by Auburn duo Billy and Freddy Blaydes in a winner-take-all match on the top court.
“The doubles point against Florida was electric, and that helped us get the crowd behind the guys,” Reynolds said. “For us to get that doubles point, then go out and win four first sets in singles was tremendous. Our guys are battling hard, and we’re playing some great tennis, so I’m excited about going 1-0 in the conference and looking forward to going to Tennessee next week.”
Auburn capped off an already successful start to SEC play with a cherry on top in the form of a 7-0 shutout over the Citadel.
The Tigers maintained momentum and fresh legs from the Florida match earlier in the day to win 6-0 on two doubles courts to secure the doubles point. With a clear talent advantage and palpable energy carried over from a huge win against the Gators, Auburn never allowed the Citadel to gain any sort of footing.
In singles competition, Auburn’s depth proved decisive. Players across the lineup won in straight sets, and the Tigers closed out courts quickly to secure a comfortable team victory. The dominant performance gave Auburn a second win of the day and valuable confidence after the emotional victory over Florida.
Auburn now sits at an impressive 9-1 overall (1-0 SEC) and looks to continue building the foundation for a successful stretch in SEC play, despite being overlooked in the grand scheme of conference projections.
Next up, the Tigers will travel to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday at 5 p.m. C.S.T at the Goodfriend Tennis Center.
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Noah is a senior majoring in business administration. He joined the Plainsman in spring 2026.
