The Alabama women’s tennis team will wrap up its regular season this weekend when it hosts the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Tennessee match will take place Friday at 3 p.m. and the Georgia match is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
The Crimson Tide is currently ranked No.7 in the country and comes into the matches this weekend with a record of 17-3 on the season and 9-2 in conference play.
Alabama suffered a defeat on the road in its last match, defeated 4-3 by the Texas A&M Aggies.
“I’m really encouraged and proud of our effort,” head coach Jenny Mainz said. “I thought we played a great match and left everything out on the court; it was a dog fight and we competed very well.”
Despite losing to Texas A&M, Mainz said the loss is going to really help the team in the near future and spark some momentum.
“I think that loss is really going to pay dividends for us down the road,” Mainz said. “Sometimes a loss can keep you really hungry, eager and invested, and I think at this point in the season that will really pay off for us.”
Junior Mary Anne Macfarlane said the goal for the team this weekend is to continue playing strong and end the regular season on a high note.
“We just want to finish the SEC schedule strong,” Macfarlane said. “We are hoping to come out right away and leave it all out on the court.”
Tennessee comes into the match 10-8 overall and is ranked No. 24 in the country. Georgia enters the match as the No. 4 team in the country and is 17-2 on the season.
“These matches are definitely going to be dog fights,” Macfarlane said. “Tennessee and Georgia are both two really good teams who are going to be ready to play. So we need to be ready just as well.”
Mainz said Alabama is focused and ready for another opportunity to compete against two competitive opponents.
“We are excited to finish at home here with this final home stand,” Mainz said. “We want to stay the course, be solid and have good energy. I think they’re ready; hopefully we get a lot of fans out. They have helped us all season long.”
