Alabama A&M dropped a 7-0 decision Saturday to nationally-ranked Auburn in women's tennis action. The Tigers are currently ranked #34 in the country, and the loss leaves the Bulldogs at 0-2 on the young season. The match marked the second time in program history A&M has traveled to Auburn to face a nationally-ranked Tiger team.
"We knew that Auburn was a strong program and that they would play a solid match," said head coach Thomas Colvin. "I saw some improvements in our play over the Lipscomb match, but I also so that we aren’t where we want to be yet."
The Tigers (3-2) took the early lead with wins at #’s 3 and 2 doubles, respectively. At #3, the team of J. Cherry/Gladness fell 8-1 to Kurteva/Schippers. The #2 team of D. Cherry/Jelks were unable to score against Chifchieva/Hastenrath, also the case with the #1 team of Mixon/Warner against Molenveld/ Thornton, each falling 8-0.
In singles, the Bulldogs, much like in doubles, played better but could not consistently get on top of the Auburn Tigers. Te’Isha Mixon, Denise Cherry, Brittany Jelks, Jasmine Cherry and Alison Gladness all lost 6-0, 6-0, but short balls, forced and unforced errors sealed their results.
In speaking of the team playing better collectively, coach Colvin also pointed out the improvement in the play of freshman Shannon Warner.
“She played a bit more like I know she can. Her 6-1, 6-0 loss was not reflective of the match she played. If she continues to believe in what we are telling her, and continues to work on the small things, she will be able to help solidify the middle of our lineup.”
“We have to improve each time we go on the courts,” commented coach Colvin. “We played better in this, our 2nd match of the season, even though the scores won’t reflect that. Playing against a team, a program like Auburn, gives us a chance to see whether what we’re doing is moving us forward.”
The Bulldogs are back in action on Friday and Saturday as they travel to Montgomery to meet Kennesaw State and Alabama State.
