CARY, N.C.- Two Auburn singles players and three Tiger doubles teams participated in the first round of the singles and doubles main draws at the ITA All-American Championships on Wednesday in Cary, North Carolina. The day was highlighted by Selin Ovunc and DJ Bennett's upset doubles victory.
"A really good response from all three teams in doubles after a tough morning in singles," said Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley. "Uncharacteristic of this group, but resilience is always a choice. Sticking with a game plan requires choosing to respond to quality misses in a way that allows you to play incrementally better as the match progresses. The longer the match goes, the better we will play."
The day was off to a difficult start in the singles main draw, as Auburn's 22nd ranked Carolyn Ansari fell to No. 40 Ange Oby Kajuru and 20th ranked Ariana Arseneault was defeated by No. 3 Alexa Noel.
In the doubles main draw, Ovunc and Bennett upset Fresno State's Yinglak Jittakoat and Matilde Magrini, the 23rd ranked doubles team in the nation, by a 6-4, 6-3 score. The victory marks the sixth doubles win over a top-25 ranked opponent in Ovunc's career and the best ranked doubles win of Bennett's career. The Tiger duo has now won four consecutive matches in the event after starting the championship in the doubles qualifying round.
The 17th ranked Auburn doubles team of Ariana Arseneault and Carolyn Ansari dropped a close match to No. 14 Irina Cantos Siemers and Sydni Ratliff of Ohio State in their first round of the doubles main draw. The tightly contested match ended in a tiebreaker with a 2-6, 6-3 (12-10) score. Adeline Flach and Ali DeSpain, an Auburn doubles team that earned a spot in the main draw by winning at the ITA National Summer Championships in August, also lost their match in a tiebreaker. Flach and DeSpain were defeated by Fiona Crawley and Carson Tanguilig, the No. 3 doubles team in the country, by a 2-6, 6-4 (10-4) score.
On Friday, Ovunc and Bennett will face No. 6 Angelica Blake and Alexis Blokhina of Stanford in the doubles main draw round of 16. Live streaming video and results from the match will be available at wearecollegetennis.com.
Wednesday Results:
#40 Ange Oby Kajuru (OKST) def. #22 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) 6-2, 6-1
#3 Alexa Noel (MIA) def. #20 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) 6-1, 6-2
Selin Ovunc/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #23 Yinglak Jittakoat/Matilde Magrini (FRES) 6-4, 6-3
#14 Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. #17 Ariana Arseneault/Carolyn Anasri 6-2, 6-3, (12-10)
#3 Fiona Crawley/Carson Tanguilig (UNC) def. Adeline Flach/Ali DeSpain 2-6, 6-4, (10-4)
Tigers complete first main draw day at ITA All-Americans
