< PreviousOLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE: WOMEN’S TENNIS 101 After Jordan Szabo helped lead Texas A&M to its first national championship, he had almost no time to celebrate with his alma mater. Szabo, who had accepted his first head coaching job at Auburn earlier in the Aggies’ postseason run, went from coaching a championship team on May 19, 2024, to a roster of just three players the next day. “There was a lot going on, but I was really excited to get going and find a team,” Szabo recalled. “It was a little stressful with the number of roster spots we needed to fill, especially because the transfer portal in women’s tennis isn’t quite as prevalent as it is in some other sports. A lot has happened since then, but I remember it being an exciting time, even not knowing what the next few months were going to look like.” To say the team had a successful fall would be an understatement. At the 2024–25 NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships, history was made in Szabo’s first few months on the Plains. DJ Bennett became the second player in program history to reach the NCAA singles finals, while she and transfer Ava Hrastar became the second Auburn duo to reach the semifinals on the doubles side. The history-making continued in the spring. Auburn earned its highest- ranked win since 2007 early in the non- conference schedule, defeating No. 3 Oklahoma State on Feb. 1. The Tigers then took down No. 4 Stanford and No. 8 North Carolina at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Evanston, Illinois, later that month. Auburn didn’t let up during the SEC slate either, matching the most conference wins in program history with an 11–4 record. That included victories over No. 6 Tennessee and No. 9 Texas, leading to a tie for third place in the SEC standings. After reaching the SEC Championship semifinals, the Tigers were selected as the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Championship — the highest seeding in team history. Auburn won its home regional with wins over South Carolina State and Wisconsin to punch the program’s fifth-ever ticket to the NCAA Super Regionals. “To finish with the highest year-end ranking in program history at No. 8, earn a lot of accolades, a top-three finish in the SEC and a lot of other program records was great,” said Szabo, who earned ITA Southern Region Coach of the Year honors after the season. “But you always want more. Reflecting on the season, it was very special, and I think the girls grew as players throughout the season, too.” The 2025 Auburn Tigers made their mark in the record books, setting program records for most top-10 wins in a season (5), most top-25 wins in a season (11), most wins in a season (25) and matched the highest national ranking ever at No. 4 on Feb. 20. Although his first season with the Tigers was memorable, Coach Szabo isn’t resting on his laurels. The program’s future looks bright, with four talented newcomers joining the already accomplished squad for the 2025–26 season. “On paper, we will definitely have a stronger and more experienced team, but the matches aren’t played on paper — the matches are played on the courts between the lines,” Szabo said. “We’re not going to change the way we do things. Just because we have a better team on paper doesn’t mean we treat them any differently. We’re going to be hungry to get better and help the girls leave here in the best place they can be so they can have professional success. We’re confident and excited about what can come.” OLYMPIC SPORTS UPDATE: WOMEN’S TENNIS BY: RILEY HUBBARD AUBURNTIGERS.COM ONE YEAR OF SZABO: FROM UNCERTAINTY TO HISTORYAUBURN SPORTS PROPERTIES 103 AUBURNTIGERS.COM Auburn Sports Properties is owned and operated by Playfly, the official worldwide marketer of Auburn University Athletics. 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