May 7, 2008

Auburn, Ala. - The No. 29 Auburn women's tennis team will take on the No. 35 Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament hosted by the University of Florida on Friday, May 9. Auburn will play at 2:00 p.m., CT., in Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.

"We are excited to make the field," said Auburn head coach Tim Gray. "Ohio State is a very good team and they are very well coached. We hope that we can get past them and maybe have another crack at Florida, but first things first."

The Tigers are 3-3 all-time against the Buckeyes. The last time the two met was in 2007. Auburn prevailed 6-1.

Auburn makes its second consecutive run in the NCAA tournament. Last year, Auburn beat N.C. State in the first round, but fell to Georgia in the second.

Auburn will look to sophomore Fani Chifchieva to lead the Tigers in singles action. Chifchieva, ranked No. 14 by the ITA, is 22-2 this season, and was selected to represent Auburn as a seeded-individual competitor at the NCAA Championship.

Auburn will also be counting on the No. 14 doubles duo of Alex Haney and Melissa Koning. The pair went 13-3, 9-2 SEC in the regular season. They also took a win at the SEC Championship.

Also in Gainesville, Florida will face Atlantic Sun Conference Champion Jacksonville in the first round at 5 p.m., May 9. The winners of the first round will face off in the second round, held on May 10, at 4 p.m.

Live stats will be available at www.gatorzone.com. For complete tournament information, please visit www.ncaa.com.