ORLANDO, Fla. – The 25th-ranked Auburn women's tennis team completed a remarkable comeback Friday afternoon, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win four singles matches in three sets and outlast Arizona State for a 4-3 win at the USTA National Campus.
Auburn will face No. 10 UCF at noon CT Saturday with a trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on the line.
The Tigers (3-0) dropped the doubles point and lost the first set on five singles courts, but rallied to force third sets in four of those matches, winning all four to clinch the victory.
"We started very slow today," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "We were out of sorts and Arizona State did a great job of capitalizing and taking the first punch – or really, the first punches. The fight in our team is unprecedented. When our back were against the wall, we fought, clawed and threw the kitchen sink to make things competitive. One heck of an effort from our girls."
Sophomore Adeline Flach provided the clinching point, fighting back from a first-set loss to win a second-set tiebreaker, then holding off a late charge by ASU's Marianna Argyrokastriti in the third to win 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Ariana Arseneault was the first to push her match to a third set, and she picked up the first Auburn point. She dropped her first set to Domenika Turkovic 1-6 but fought back with a vengeance, winning the final two sets 6-0 and 6-1 to cut the Sun Devil lead to 2-1.
The score would be tied 2-2 after Carolyn Ansari fought through a second-set tiebreaker to force a third, then raced past Sedona Gallagher for a 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1 win. Selin Ovunc then put Auburn ahead for the first time, holding off Giulia Morlet in a third-set breaker, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6).
Georgie Axon would come up short in a second-set tiebreaker, falling 6-2, 7-6 (3) to Cali Jankowski, and Yu Chen would win her first set before falling in three, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, to Patricija Spaka.
Auburn fell behind 1-0 after doubles as Ovunc and Arseneault dropped a 6-4 decision to Spaka and Turkovic, and Ansari and Madeline Meredith came up short, 6-4, to Gallagher and Jankowski. Flach and Axon were on serve at 4-5 when doubles play was halted.
UCF defeated UC Santa Barbara 4-2 earlier in the day to clinch their spot in the site championship.
Live scoring and live video will be available for Saturday's match; links are available on the schedule page at AuburnTigers.com and also at ustanationalcampus.com.
ITA Kickoff – First Round
Jan. 28, 2022 – Orlando, Fla.
#25 Auburn 4, Arizona State 3
Singles
1. #79 Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Giulia Morlet (ASU), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6)
2. Ariana Arseneault (AU) def. Domenika Turkovic (ASU), 1-6, 6-0, 6-1
3. #115 Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. Sedona Gallagher (ASU), 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1
4. Adeline Flach (AU) def. Marianna Argyrokastriti (ASU), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4
5. Cali Jankowski (ASU) def. Georgie Axon (AU), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
6. Patricija Spaka (ASU) def. Yu Chen (AU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 1, 6, 4
Doubles
1. Spaka/Turkovic (ASU) def. Ovunc/Arseneault (AU), 6-4
2. Flach/Axon (AU) vs. Argyrokastriti/Morlet (ASU), 4-5 unfinished
3. Gallagher/Jankowski (ASU) def. Ansari/Meredith (AU), 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3