AUBURN, Ala. – Women’s tennis is set to host the 2024 ITA Southern Regional Championships Thursday through Tuesday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama. Nine Tigers will take part in the event, vying for a spot in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.
The tournament will be hosted by Auburn for the first time since 2017 and is open to players from any school in the ITA Southern Region which includes all Division I universities from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
For the first time, something more than just a regional crown will be up for grabs from the tournament. The two players that reach the finals in the singles main draw will earn a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship while the doubles team that wins the doubles main draw will receive a bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship. Both championships will be held Nov. 19-24 in Waco, Texas.
Julie Bedard and Natalie Outcalt will begin play on Thursday during the singles qualifying draw in matches starting at 9 a.m. CT. The 16 players that make it through qualifying will earn a spot in the 64-player singles main draw, which will begin on Friday. DJ Bennett, Ava Hrastar, Angella Okutoyi, Merna Refaat, Alice Battesti, Ava Esposito and Emma Tothova were each selected for the singles main draw.
50 doubles teams will participate in the doubles main draw that is scheduled to begin on Friday morning. Four pairs of Tigers will battle for the doubles title, including the 18th ranked duo of Bennett and Hrastar. No. 32 Okutoyi and Refaat will pair up for the first time in a college event, Esposito and Battesti will be doubles partners in the tournament as well as Bedard and Outcalt.
Full draws and results from each match will be available online at wearecollegetennis.com. Live video of select matches will be available online at AuburnTigers.com. Admission to each day of the tournament at the Yarbrough Tennis Center is free to the public.