ATHENS, Ga. — Auburn junior Tim Puetz and sophomore Alex Stamchev are set to begin competition in the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships for singles and doubles play, which is slated to start today at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia.

Puetz will compete in singles competition today and will join forces with Stamchev in doubles play Thursday.

Puetz will open against Sven Vloedgraven of Binghamton. Puetz, currently ranked as the No. 20 singles player in the nation, will be facing Vloedgraven for the first time this year.

“Tim is entering the tournament as a seeded player and it gives him a good opportunity to show the type of player he really is,” Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. “He is capable to do damage in this tournament.”

This season, Puetz posted a 14-6 record while playing at the No. 1 spot for the Tigers. When playing against players ranked in the top-100 of the ITA rankings, he holds an 11-6 mark, including two victories over top-5 players.

The Usingen, Germany, native’s trip to this year’s NCAA Singles Tournament marks the tenth time in the past 11 years that Auburn has sent a player to compete in the national event.

Puetz’s first-round match in the field of 64 is set to begin at 9 a.m.

Beginning on Thursday, Puetz will combine with Stamchev to take on the field of 32 in doubles competition. Currently ranked as the No. 13 doubles duo in the country, the pair will face Ohio State’s Chase Buchanan and Dino Marcan, the No. 9 tandem.

“Tim and Alex have had great year,” Shore stated. “They have a chance to really make a name of themselves and do very well.”

This year, Puetz and Stamchev posted a 13-7 record as Auburn’s top duo.

The pair defeated two top-10 teams during the season, including a victory over the No. 2 duo of Davey Sandgren and John-Patrick Smith of Tennessee.

Puetz will be making the second trip of his career to the NCAA Doubles Tournament. Last year, he paired with Alexey Tsyrenov as the duo advanced to the semifinals.

Chifchieva heads to NCAA Tournament
ATHENS, Ga. — Auburn senior women’s tennis player Fani Chifchieva learned Tuesday that she will face off against Lindsey Hardenburg of Virginia today at 2:30 p.m. in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Singles Championship.

Hardenburg, a sophomore, is currently ranked No. 57 in the ITA Rankings, and holds a 14-12 overall record in the spring season playing exclusively at the No. 1 position for the Cavaliers. Chifchieva and Hardenburg share a common opponent this season, as both were defeated by the top-ranked player in the country, Irina Falconi of Georgia Tech.

The sophomore is 1-7 in her last eight matches, with the lone victory coming against Alex Kelleher of Boston College on April 22. On the season, she is 5-12 against nationally-ranked opponents, and her signature win is a 6-2, 7-5 decision over No. 23 Nadine Fahoum of Old Dominion on Feb. 28.

Chifchieva (13-6), ranked No. 36 in the ITA Poll, holds an even 9-9 career record against competitors in the tournament and is an even 3-3 against seeded (1-16) opponents. Additionally, she is 5-3 all-time in the tournament, and advanced to the semifinals with a 4-1 record in 2008. She is seeking to become the first Auburn women’s tennis player to ever be named an ITA All-American on four occasions, as she has earned the distinction in each of her first three seasons at Auburn.

Auburn in the WNBA
Two former Auburn players faced off this past week as the Seattle Storm defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 95-89, in overtime last Saturday.

Former Tiger Le’Coe Willingham finished the game with 8 points and three rebounds in 11 minutes of action for the victorious Storm.

The Augusta, Ga., native made 3-of-4 shots from the floor and made both of her attempts from the free throw line.

The win was the second of the week for Seattle after a 79-76 win over the Minnesota Lynx last Wednesday. In the win, Willingham totaled 2 points, four rebounds and an assist in 16 minutes of action.

After three games, Willingham is averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds on the season.

After posting a team-high five double-doubles for the WNBA champions Phoenix Mercury last season as a rookie, 2009 SEC Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner recorded her first double-double of the 2010 campaign on Saturday, leading her team with 24 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to the Storm.

Bonner shot a team best 7-of-12 from the field and went 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. The Mercury scored the last 11 points of regulation to force an extra session including 5 points from the former Auburn star.

After two games this season, Bonner shares top scoring honors on the Mercury with Candice Dupree, averaging 15.5 points, and leads the team with 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3-point range and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line. 

With the win, the Storm stayed perfect on the season at 3-0. That perfect record will be tested this week as Seattle prepares for three games including two road contests.