AUBURN - The 18th-ranked Auburn men's tennis team will play its final two matches of the 2013 regular season this weekend as they travel to Georgia on Friday and Tennessee on Sunday.
The Tigers (13-7, 5-5 SEC) will face No. 3 Georgia (17-4, 9-1) at 4 p.m. CT Friday at the Dan Magill Tennis Center in Athens before traveling to Knoxville to take on No. 10 Tennessee (19-7, 6-4) at noon Sunday at Barksdale Stadium.
Auburn moved into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's top 20 for the first time this season after earning its third win over a top-20 team in its last four outings on Friday. The Tigers, ranked 27th last week, took down 12th-ranked Texas A&M in a 4-3 thriller on Senior Night at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Auburn is one of 10 SEC teams currently ranked in the nation's top 20. Georgia (3), Ole Miss (6), Kentucky (8) and Tennessee (10) lead the way, followed by Mississippi State (11), Vanderbilt (13), Texas A&M (14), Florida (17), Auburn (18) and LSU (20).
The Tigers also have three individuals and two doubles teams in this week's rankings. Senior Andreas Mies moved up to No. 28 in the national singles rankings after winning his seventh match in SEC play this season over A&M's 40th-ranked Jeremy Efferding. Mies enters the weekend at 13-5 in dual match play this year, 7-3 in the SEC. Junior Daniel Cochrane comes in at No. 115, and sophomore Lukas Ollert is ranked No. 122.
In doubles, Mies and Cochrane moved up two spots to No. 3; the duo has been ranked in the top five for the entirety of the spring season. They picked up their second SEC win of the year Friday with an 8-4 victory over the Aggies' 11th-ranked Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow. It was a rare win in SEC play; four times in conference matches this season, the Tiger tandem has been leading and serving for the match when play was halted as the doubles point was clinched. In addition, the team of junior Dennis Lengsfeld and senior Lucas Lopasso moved into the rankings for the first time at No. 48; they boast a 21-4 record for the entire season, including 16-4 in dual matches and 7-3 in SEC play.
The Bulldogs enter the week with the No. 3 national ranking, having already clinched the regular-season SEC title with a 9-1 record in league play. Georgia is strong at every position with four players ranked in the ITA singles rankings. Senior KU Singh is ranked No. 7, sophomore Nathan Pasha is No. 44, freshman Ben Wagland is 64th and junior Hernus Pieters comes in at No. 121. Three Georgia doubles teams are ranked as well - Pieters & Wagland are No. 5, Pasha and Garrett Brasseaux are No. 24 and Pasha and Singh are ranked 73rd.
Georgia owns a 50-4 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1950, the first season of Auburn tennis. The Bulldogs have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including two contests last year - a 6-1 decision in the regular season at Auburn and a 4-0 win in the SEC Tournament. Auburn's last win in the series came in the quarterfinals of the 2010 SEC Tournament.
The Vols have two ranked singles players, both in the top 30. Sophomore Mikelis Libietis is the nation's fourth-ranked player with an 18-2 record in dual match play, including a 7-1 mark in SEC matches. Sophomore Hunter Reese comes in at No. 30 in the latest rankings, boasting a 12-4 dual mark (6-3 SEC). Libietis and Reese make up the nation's sixth-ranked doubles team, while Jarryd Chapin and Libietis are ranked 45th, Libietis and John Collins are 57th, and Collins and Edward Jones are ranked 60th.
Tennessee leads the all-time series 33-15, dating back to 1964. The Vols have won the last six meetings in the series, including a 5-2 UT win in Auburn last year. Auburn's last win in the series came in 2006.
Live stats and video for Friday's match are available at GeorgiaDogs.com, and live stats and video for Sunday's match can be viewed at UTSports.com.
