Junior Tim Puetz picked up his first SEC weekly honor of the season, being named men’s tennis Player of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday.

“Tim is a talented player that plays with a lot of options,” head coach Eric Shore said. “He moves extremely well and has a lot of variety in his game.

“He isn’t a one-dimensional player and is the complete package for this team.”

The Usingen, Germany, product stands at 7-0 on the spring season and is 18-4 overall this year at the No. 1 singles spot for the nationally-ranked Tigers. His only other SEC honor came on Feb. 19, 2008, when he was named SEC Freshman of the Week.

In the team’s tough 4-3 loss to No. 30 Georgia Tech last Wednesday, Puetz recorded a come-from-behind victory over then fourth-ranked singles player in the country in Guillermo Gomez in three sets.

Gomez topped Puetz, 6-2, in the first set, but Puetz battled back in the second to win 6-3. Puetz, ranked No. 25 in the country, fought Gomez in the third set and came out on top, 7-5.

“That match showed what he is capable of and that he has a lot of confidence in himself,” Shore said. “A lot of guys would have been done after the first set, but he raised his match and figured out a way to win.”

Among his other achievements this season, Puetz and partner Alex Stamchev were ranked the top doubles team in the country last week, according to the ITA polls.

The pair most recently defeated Georgia Tech’s Dean O’Brien and Eliot Potvin, 8-5. They are 5-0 on the spring season and have an overall record of 16-2 together.

The Tigers travel to Tulsa, Okla., on Sunday to take on the University of Tulsa. The match is set for noon.

Women’s tennis beats Troy
The No. 46 Auburn women’s tennis team (5-2) defeated the Troy Trojans on Wednesday afternoon at City of Auburn/Yarbrough Tennis Center via shutout, 7-0.

The Tigers won all nine matches to give Auburn a three match winning streak heading into Sunday’s matchup with No. 32 TCU.

“The girls came out focused today and they did a solid job working on the things that we’ve been trying to work on like doubles, our movement on the court, going to space, and hitting out targets,“ said head coach Tim Gray.

Auburn began the afternoon by taking the doubles point, as the senior tandem of Jil Hastenrath and Fani Chifchieva defeated Troy’s Emma Smith and Lauren Simpson, 8-0 in second flight doubles.

In No. 1 doubles, freshman Caroline Thornton and senior Myrthe Molenveld defeated Leonie Guijt and Karoline Grymel, 8-4.

Flight three featured the undefeated freshman duo of Paulina Schippers and Plamena Kurteva, who trailed most of the match, but pulled away late to defeat Rosaura Ramirez-Vega and Gabriella Vega of Troy 8-5 to improve to a perfect 7-0 on the season.

Moving to singles action, Molenveld continued her winning ways with a 6-1, 6-2, decision over Simpson at No. 2 singles, while Chifchieva, the 59th player in the country according to the latest ITA Rankings, followed with a 6-0, 6-3, victory over Grymel in first flight action.

In third flight play, sophomore Daniela Vukadinovic defeated Guijt by a 6-2, 6-0 count for Auburn’s third singles victory of the day.

Hastenrath then picked up a 6-1, 6-1, victory over Veiga in the sixth flight, while Thornton and Schippers closed out the afternoon for the Tigers with a pair of straight set wins to seal the 7-0 win

Softball’s game vs. Jax State canceled
The Auburn vs. Jacksonville State softball game slated for 5 p.m. Wednesday was canceled due to travel complications, and will be played at a date to be determined.

The Tigers will next play in the NFCA Leadoff Classic beginning Friday in Columbus, Ga. Auburn will play twice Friday, at 10 a.m. against Kent State and at 3 p.m. against Illinois State.

Auburn will play twice on Saturday, with a 10 a.m. game against Virginia Tech and a 3 p.m. game against Southern Illinois.

The Tigers conclude play in the NFCA Leadoff Classic with a 9 a.m. game against North Carolina State on Sunday.