BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The No. 73-ranked Samford University women's tennis team's school-record, 18-match home winning streak will face its toughest challenge in nearly two years Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the No. 28-ranked Auburn Tigers to the Samford Tennis Center for a highly-anticipated, nationally-ranked showdown.
 
Samford (3-2) heads into the contest riding the positive momentum of a three-match winning streak. Since opening the 2015 campaign with a pair of losses against No. 10 Georgia and No. 63 Wake Forest at the prestigious ITA Kick-Off Weekend, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive home victories against Kennesaw State, 7-0, UAB, 5-2, and Jacksonville State, 7-0.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
Samford extended its school-record home winning streak to 18-consecutive matches Wednesday by blanking the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, 7-0, in a non-conference contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
With the win, Samford tallied its third-consecutive victory of the season and remained undefeated at home since losing to Furman on March 23, 2013.
 
The Bulldogs garnered the doubles point with quick wins on courts No. 1 and No. 2. In the No. 1 singles contest, Samford's combination of Stephanie N'tcha and Carita Moolman cruised past the Gamecocks' pairing of Sadey St. Amant and Genevie Ulanday, 6-1.
 
Similarly on court No. 2, the Bulldogs also earned a 6-1 victory as Yasmeen Ebada and Jessica Northcutt defeated Jacksonville State's Olivia Nguyen and Danielle Kerindi.
 
In singles play, the Bulldogs were triumphant on all six courts, including straight-set victories in five of the contests.
 
Samford's N'tcha, Northcutt, Iva Parapunova, Moolman and Savannah Wood all won in two sets Wednesday, while Ebada rallied from behind to top Jacksonville State's Ulanday, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5. With her victory, Ebada improved to 3-2 on court No. 2 this season.
 
Auburn (7-2), the 28^th-ranked team in the nation, has won four-straight matches dating back to Jan. 31. Last weekend, Auburn earned three wins in Houston, Texas, by taking down No. 52 Washington State and Prairie View A&M on Saturday before topping No. 42 Washington Sunday.
 
Auburn's doubles pair of Pleun Burgmans and Emily Flickinger retained its top-10 ranking, coming in at No. 7 in the latest ITA listing. Michala Kucharova and Reka Muller also entered the latest ITA release at No. 45 in doubles.
 
Burgmans heads into the weekend at No. 46 in the ITA rankings in singles play, leading the Tigers with a 12-6 overall record. Andie Dikosavljevic has won four straight matches in singles and is 6-2 in dual-match play, while Paula de Man is a perfect 5-0 in singles action.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING
Samford suffered its first loss of the dual-match season on Feb. 9, 2014, as the Bulldogs dropped a 4-0 road decision to the 21^st-ranked Auburn Tigers in a non-conference contest held at the City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarbrough Tennis Center.
 
Samford hung tough with No. 21-ranked Auburn on a number of courts in both singles and doubles play, but the match was called as soon as the Tigers reached the decisive four-point mark.
 
The Bulldogs' No. 3 doubles pairing of Ebada and Northcutt nearly knocked off Auburn's tandem comprised of Jackie Kasler and Jen Pfeifler, but the Tiger duo rallied back to earn a slight 8-7 win.
 
In singles play, the Bulldogs' No. 72-ranked N'tcha and Ebada were both leading their Auburn counterparts in the second set of action. The Tigers' singles wins occurred on courts No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Saturday's final match of its current four-game homestand, the No. 73-ranked Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Thursday at 3 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Starkville, Mississippi, for another key contest against the No. 74-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs to be held at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.