For the second straight weekend, Auburn sophomore Yu Chen advanced to the finals of her flight to highlight a busy Saturday for the Auburn women's tennis team.
At the H-E-B Invitational in Waco, Texas, Chen earned a pair of wins in the main singles draw to earn a berth in the tournament final. She defeated UTSA's Jasmin Starr 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinal, then downed Kentucky's Diana Tkachenko 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinal to remain unbeaten in singles so far this fall. She will face Texas A&M's Dorthea Faa-Hviding in Sunday's main draw final.
"We finished the day much stronger than we started," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "As we embrace aggressive tennis, the simpler we can keep things at the beginning, the more sound foundation we will have to build on. I love the way we are competing with professionalism and supporting one another as teammates. Tomorrow is another opportunity to be gritty and tough with the 'whatever it takes mentality.'"
Auburn picked up two other singles wins in Waco in non-bracket matches. Freshman Carolyn Ansari defeated Mississippi State's Marta Falceto, 6-2, 7-6 (3), and senior Georgie Axon downed Baylor's Paula Baranano, 6-3, 6-3.
On a long, rain-soaked day in Tulsa, Okla., freshman Selin Ovunc won her first two matches in the pre-qualifying singles draw at the ITA All-American Championships.
"We had a long day in Tulsa between the inclement weather and moving in and outdoors," Auburn assistant coach Hadley Berg said. "We knew we would have to be flexible going into the day, so I'm impressed with how we handled that. There were a lot of positives to take away from the day, especially their commitment to an aggressive game. We can always improve on how we compete, so we're looking to build on that for tomorrow."
Ovunc defeated Princeton's Grace Joyce, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, in the opening match, then took down Chunxi Xin of Central Arkansas, 6-2, 6-0 in the second round. She needs one more win to move on to the singles qualifying draw; Ovunc faces Marie Mattel of UCF Sunday. Junior Madeline Meredith dropped her opening match to Samantha Mannix of Iowa, 6-0, 6-4; she will play in the consolation draw Sunday.
Play concludes Sunday at the H-E-B Invitational and continues at the ITA All-American Championships.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn Women's Tennis Results – Saturday, Oct. 5
H-E-B Invitational (Waco, Texas)
Singles
Yu Chen (AU) def. Jasmin Starr (UTSA), 6-2, 6-0
Yu Chen (AU) def. Diana Tkachenko (UK), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Addy Guevara (TCU) def. Lindsay Song (AU), 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (8)
Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. Marta Falceto (MSU), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
Georgie Axon (AU) def. Paula Baranano (BU), 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
Frazier/Duong (ILL) def. Ansari/Axon (AU), 6-2
Shakhraichuk/Sorokolet (BU) def. Chen/Song (AU), 6-3
ITA All-American Championships (Tulsa, Okla.)
Pre-Qualifying Singles
Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Grace Joyce (Princeton), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Chunxi Xin (UCA), 6-2, 6-0
Samantha Mannix (Iowa) def. Madeline Meredith (AU), 6-0, 6-4