For the second time in less than a month, the Alabama men’s tennis team will take on Auburn. This time the Crimson Tide will take on the Tigers at home.

Alabama (9-7, 2-2 SEC) previously defeated Auburn (13-5, 3-1) in the Blue Gray Tennis Classic in Montgomery Feb. 23. After losing the doubles point in the consolation finals, the team came back to win 4-1.

Coach George Husack said he’s excited to face the Tigers again not only because of the previous victory, but also because of the caliber of play that comes with facing such a storied rival team.

“We won, and we won in very good fashion,” Husack said. “That’s one of our best matches of the year, so that’s the standard we’re trying to uphold for the whole season. Just the rivalry alone gets us more focused on competing that way.”

(See also “Women’s tennis team travels to face Auburn“)

Junior Stuart Kenyon said the rivalry between the two teams made the February victory that much sweeter.

“When we beat Auburn, it’s not like beating any other team,” Kenyon said. “It’s pure rivalry, and there’s so much history behind it. Everyone thinks Auburn football and Alabama football, but with the other sports it’s just as big of a rivalry.”

Alabama will enter this match off of a busy weekend, where it took on Arkansas and the Citadel in a doubleheader Sunday. Before definitively beating the Citadel 7-0, the Crimson Tide fell 4-3 to the Razorbacks in a back and forth battle.

Kenyon said that despite the victory in the second match of the doubleheader, the loss to Arkansas was extremely disappointing and illustrated some key issues to focus on during practice before facing Auburn.

(See also “Tide men tennis team splits weekend doubleheader“)

“It was kind of heartbreaking. We definitely went in to that match expecting to win,” Kenyon said. “It kind of stokes the fire a little bit and refocuses us on what we need to improve on to get the win this week.”

Following the Auburn match, the Crimson Tide will face a series of SEC opponents for the remainder of its season, with the exception of a match against USC, leaving no time for rest.

“We have to keep things in perspective,” Husack said. “It’s a game, and we have to enjoy the game when we go out to play it.”

(See also “Tennis team reaches program high“)