NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men's tennis team will return to action on Friday with a pair of matches inside the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. At 11 a.m., the Monarchs will host Auburn, while at 3 p.m. they'll face Norfolk State.
"We are excited to be back competing after that thriller against Wisconsin. We had a weekend off which was great to recharge our batteries and work on some things during practice," said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller. "Having our last double header of the season will allow us to give everybody playing time again almost half way through the regular season.
The Monarchs last saw action on January 29 when they rallied to defeat Wisconsin 4-3. ODU (4-2) trailed 3-1 and won the last three matches, all in three-set affairs, to storm back for the win. In the latest NCAA rankings announced on Wednesday, the doubles tandem of Brandon Perez and Younes Lalami are ranked 36th.
Auburn is currently 5-2 after winning a pair of matches last Sunday against Georgia Tech (5-2) and College of Charleston (6-1). Tyler Stice is the lone nationally-ranked player for the Tigers coming in at 90th in the latest rankings. Alejandro Moreno leads the team in dual match wins with a 4-1 record thus far.
"Auburn was a Top 25 team last year and carried that ranking into the preseason. They returned five starters from that team and are coming off a strong win against Georgia Tech," said Mueller. "We did not play well against them the previous two years, but I think we learned from those matches and will do everything to reverse the outcome on Friday."
Norfolk State will be playing its first match of the season on Friday afternoon. This will be the first meeting since the 2020-21 season when ODU defeated Norfolk State 7-0.
"It will be Norfolk State's first match of the season, so there is always an unknown about your opponent. They got some good new players in so we are looking forward to being tested by them which will help us down the road," Mueller said.
ODU returns to action on February 17 to host VCU at 1 p.m. inside Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.
Live Stats: Auburn; Norfolk State
Men's Tennis Returns To Action With Friday Doubleheader
