AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's tennis team remained unbeaten on the young season with a 4-0 win over South Florida Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Playing outdoors for the first time this season, the Tigers (3-0) got singles wins at the third through fifth positions and were leading in two other matches when the team match was clinched.
"The standard never changes," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "That's what greatness requires. Competitors find a way to rise up when their backs are against the wall. As a team, we need to do a better job of playing with urgency. I liked our response as a unit in singles and look forward to getting back to practice tomorrow."
After the Tigers earned a 6-1 doubles win on court two from Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach, followed by a 6-2 loss from Carolyn Ansari and Yu Chen at the No. 3 spot, Auburn claimed the doubles point and a 1-0 lead as 11th-ranked Selin Ovunc and Taylor Russo outlasted Boy and Mjos from USF, 6-4.
Russo, ranked 99th nationally in singles, would make short work of Alex Mjos at the No. 4 position, 6-1, 6-1, to give Auburn a 2-0 lead. Freshman Adeline Flach would follow soon after, improving to 3-0 in singles this spring with a 6-1, 6-3 win at the fifth spot over Lucia Garrigues. Axon would clinch the win at the No. 3 singles spot with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Evelyne Trion.
Shir Azran had match point at the No. 6 singles spot when play was halted; she led 6-2, 5-3 and 40-30 in the game. Ansari was up a set and tied 5-5 in the second, and Ovunc had dropped the first set but was 2-2 in the second when the team match was clinched.
The Tigers will face their toughest test of the young season so far Sunday when they travel to Atlanta to face No. 6 Georgia Tech. Match time is set for 11 a.m. CT; links to live stats and video are available on the women's tennis schedule page at AuburnTigers.com.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn 4, South Florida 0
Singles
1. #62 Selin Ovunc (AU) vs. Amelie Boy (USF), 5-7, 2-2 unfinished
2. Carolyn Ansari (AU) vs. Grace Schumacher (USF), 6-1, 5-5 unfinished
3. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Evelyne Tiron (USF), 6-1, 6-4
4. #99 Taylor Russo (AU) def. Alex Mjos (USF), 6-1, 6-1
5. Adeline Flach (AU) def. Lucia Garrigues (USF), 6-1, 6-3
6. Shir Azran (AU) vs. Margriet Timmermans (USF), 6-2, 5-3 unfinished
Order of finish: 4, 5, 3
Doubles
1. #11 Ovunc/Russo (AU) def. Boy/Mjos (USF), 6-4
2. Axon/Flach (AU) def. Schumacher/Timmermans (USF), 6-1
3. Eland/Tiron (USF) def. Ansari/Chen (AU), 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Time of match: 1:56
Auburn 3-0
South Florida 0-3