After back-to-back losses at home last weekend, Alabama is back at home this Saturday. The Crimson Tide will host its in-state rival, the Auburn Tigers. The match will be the team’s Power of Pink match.
“Of course with the intrastate rivalry, everyone’s going to get fired up,” coach Jenny Mainz said. “I mean it is fun. It’s a healthy rivalry but it’s not anything more or better or different – it’s the next one on our schedule.”
Instead of just focusing on the losses, Mainz said she acknowledges that the team played many hard matches this season and won.
“We’ve been competing really well and the other teams have been competing really well,” senior Luicelena Perez. “The level is better than past years so it’s making us better.”
Since the team only has the one match against Auburn on Saturday this weekend, it will have more time to focus on specific things in practice. Working on its patterns and tactics will be key for the players this week. It needs to get back into the swing of focusing on its strengths and playing its matches on its own terms, Mainz said.
Although it’s the Iron Bowl, the team will prepare and play the same as always, the end goal always being to get better and better each day.
“I don’t want it to motivate us in the wrong way and just make it an emotional match instead of just another match on the SEC schedule,” junior Natalia Maynetto said.
As the Power of Pink match, the team will also be sporting pink for breast cancer awareness.
“It’s exciting to be able to support a big cause like that,” Maynetto said. “I think it’s really cool that ours is especially during Auburn, which I think a lot of fans will get into. It’ll be good that it will be a big significance for both.”
Alone, a match against Auburn draws in fans, as does each Power of Pink match. Together, it’ll be even bigger and create a great atmosphere for Saturday, Perez said. She said she thinks it key that anyone affected by breast cancer knows that not only the team, but the community as well, is there for and thinking about them.
“To compete in that spirit, to honor all those affected by breast cancer, I think will be very special,” Mainz said.
