AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's tennis team made the most of their first home match in more than 10 months, earning a 7-0 sweep over Samford Friday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Tigers (2-0) did not drop a set on the day, finishing off the team match in just under two hours to pick up their second win of the spring season.
"Today was a total team effort," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "The professionalism we exhibited throughout the entire match allowed us to play aggressive tennis and apply consistent pressure. As we progress through our season, every opportunity to compete is one we are grateful for."
Auburn took an early 1-0 lead in sweeping the three doubles matches. The 11th-ranked team of Selin Ovunc and Taylor Russo earned a 6-2 win, Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach took down their opponent 6-1, and Carolyn Ansari and Yu Chen also came away with a 6-2 win.
It would quickly be 2-0 as Ansari downed Samford's Cindy Oest 6-0, 6-1, at the No. 3 singles spot. Axon followed in short order with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Alexis Lopes at the No. 4 position. Freshman Adeline Flach clinched the team victory at No. 6 singles with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Samantha Maras.
The wins continued as 99th-ranked Russo defeated Samford's Alex Koniaev, 6-3, 6-1, to make it 5-0, No. 62 Ovunc made it 6-0 with a 6-4, 6-2 win at the top singles spot over Rounxanne Janse van Rensburg, and Chen finished off the sweep with a 6-3, 6-0 win on court two over Natalia de Ugarte.
The Tigers also played two exhibition singles matches, earning wins in both. Junior Shir Azran won 6-4, 6-0, over Samantha Nanere, and senior Madeline Meredith saw her first action of the season with a 6-1, 7-6 (5) win over Ally Hayduk.
Sunday's Match at UNF Postponed
Auburn's match scheduled for Sunday at North Florida has been postponed due to health and safety concerns. A makeup date has not been determined.
The Tigers will return to action next Friday, Jan. 29, at home against South Florida with the match set for a 10 a.m. CT start at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn 7, Samford 0
Singles
1. #62 Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Rouxanne Janse van Rensburg (SAM), 6-4, 6-2
2. Yu Chen (AU) def. Natalia de Ugarte (SAM), 6-3, 6-0
3. Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. Cindy Oest (SAM), 6-0, 6-1
4. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Alexis Lopez (SAM), 6-0, 6-1
5. #99 Taylor Russo (AU) def. Alex Koniaev (SAM), 6-3, 6-1
6. Adeline Flach (AU) def. Samantha Maras (SAM), 6-1, 6-1
*7. Shir Azran (AU) def. Samantha Nanere (SAM), 6-4, 6-0
*8. Madeline Meredith (AU) def. Ally Hayduk (SAM), 6-1, 7-6 (5)
Order of finish: 3, 4, 6, 5, 1, 2, 7, 8
*Exhibition matches that did not count toward team score
Doubles
1. #11 Ovunc/Russo (AU) def. Janse van Rensburg/Oest (SAM), 6-2
2. Axon/Flach (AU) def. De Ugarte/Lopez (SAM), 6-1
3. Ansari/Chen (AU) def. Koniaev/Nanere (SAM), 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3