LOS ANGELES — The No. 35 Auburn women’s tennis team, fresh off knocking off LSU on Friday night in opening round play, was defeated by the No. 9 USC Trojans, 4-0, on Saturday night at Marks Tennis Stadium.

“We played a very good team today,” head coach Tim Gray said. “They were incredibly focused on the task at hand. We did a great job in the doubles and created some opportunities, but we just couldn’t convert. Hats off to USC. They really came ready to play today.”

The day began with doubles action, beginning with USC’s Lyndsay Kinstler and Maria Sanchez defeating Auburn’s Myrthe Molenveld and Caroline Thornton by an 8-3 tally. In the following doubles match,

Auburn was defeated, 8-4, as Danielle Lao and Alison Ramos defeated Fani Chifchieva and Jil Hastenrath.

No. 3 doubles continued to be a bright spot on the young season for Auburn, as the freshman tandem of Plamena Kurteva and Paulina Schippers picked up Auburn’s only victory on the day, defeating Cristala Andrews and Valeria Pulido, 8-4.

The Tigers then ran into a buzzsaw in singles action, as the Trojans featured four players ranked in the top-40 in the nation. No. 38 Ramos began singles play by beating Molenveld, 6-0, 6-1, followed by Leyla Entekhabi dropping Schippers, 6-0, 6-1, at the No. 5 spot. Pulido, ranked No. 37 in the country, then secured the team victory for the Trojans, downing Daniela Vukadinovic, 6-0, 6-4, to clinch the victory, leaving the remaining matches suspended.

Auburn returns to action this Saturday as the Tigers will play host to Alabama A&M. Match time is slated for a 4 p.m. start from Yarbrough Tennis Center.

Tickets to Capital City Classic on sale today
Tickets to the second annual MAX Capital City Classic between Auburn and Alabama on Tuesday, March 9 will go on sale today through the Montgomery Biscuits ticket office.

This year’s game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first pitch, with the gates opening at 5:30 p.m.

There are four different ticket prices available for this year’s event, including executive club ($24), super box ($22), box seats ($20) and lawn seating ($18) at Riverwalk Stadium.

Group tickets for 20 or more are also available through the Biscuits ticket office.

As the home team this year, Auburn will occupy the first base dugout.

Auburn and Alabama will be meeting in a non-conference game for the second consecutive year at Riverwalk Stadium. Auburn claimed a dramatic, 8-7, come-from-behind win in front of 7,489 fans in the inaugural game last year as MVP Ben Jones stroked a two-out RBI double in the top of the ninth to score the winning run.

“We are excited about going back to Montgomery for the second annual Capital City Classic,” Auburn head coach John Pawlowski said. “Last year’s game was a very entertaining one and we look forward to giving our fans in Montgomery another great opportunity to see us play up close in a great stadium and environment.”

Tickets can be purchased through the Biscuits ticket office (334-323-2255) or the 2010 MAX Capital City Classic website (http://www.maxcapitalcityclassic.com).