The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Tennis Hits the Road for Auburn
1/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
UAB (0-1) at Auburn (0-0)
12 p.m. l Auburn, Ala. l Yarbrough Tennis Center
Live Scoring
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women’s tennis squad returns to the court on Saturday as it heads to in-state foe, Auburn. The match, held at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, is slated to begin at noon.
"We are starting our season with some very high ranked teams,” head women’s tennis coach Mark Tija stated.
A young squad represents the Blazers, as three freshmen will be playing in their second collegiate career matches.
UAB will look to senior Elaine Simon and juniors Pardis Kianoush and Catherine Ragon for leadership on the court as senior Amy Lowther is recovering from injury.
Last season, Lowther posted a 9-7 overall mark, including a team-best 4-1 record in conference play, completing primarily in the No. 5 spot. Kianoush boasted a 4-2 record at the No. 2 spot, and also completed as the Blazers’ No. 1 singles player eight times. Ragon went 2-of-2 in conference play, but had a strong 3-1 record at No. 5.
UAB (0-1) opened its 2016 spring season at No. 23 Georgia Tech.
“This will give us an opportunity to compete against some of the top programs in the country, and it will help prepare us for the rest of the season,” Tija added. “I am excited to see how our new kids handle the situation, and also how our older kids lead. We have been having great practices and have shown improvement. We are all looking forward to competing against the big names in college tennis."
Auburn opens its season on Saturday against UAB. The Tigers enter the spring with the No. 30 ranked doubles tandem in the ITA doubles poll. In singles play, Andie Dikosavljevic comes into the season ranked No. 30 in the preseason ITA polls. The sophomore finished her freshman campaign with a 20-14 record.
Admission to the Yarbrough Tennis Center is free.
For more information on UAB Athletics and women's tennis, follow the Blazers on Twitter @UABAthletics and @UABWTennis.
