AUBURN, Ala. – No. 4 Auburn women’s tennis defeated Georgia Tech 6-1 on Tuesday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in its first Power Four matchup of the season. The Tigers set the tone by securing the doubles point before adding five singles victories.
“It was good to get the doubles point and come out strong there, but I think we can play to a higher standard,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “I thought we played well overall, but singles started a little shaky. We’ve been emphasizing the importance of valuing every point, and I don’t think we did, which cost us at times. But, we had some players really step up and deliver some dominant wins. It was a good win, and now we’ll take a day off before getting ready for ITA Kickoff Weekend.”
In doubles, Merna Refaat and Angella Okutoyi made quick work of Alejandra Cruz and Sabritt Dozier on court three, winning 6-1 after closing the match with five consecutive games. The top Auburn tandem of DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito followed with a 6-2 victory on court one to clinch the doubles point.
At the No. 2 singles position, Ekaterina Khairutdinova rallied from a 4-3 deficit in the opening set to take it 6-4. After Georgia Tech’s Taly Licht claimed the first game of the second set, Khairutdinova won six straight games to earn her team-leading fifth singles victory of the season.
Auburn sophomore Ashton Bowers also delivered a straight-set win at No. 5 singles, defeating Dozier 6-2, 6-1 to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
On court six, Georgia Tech’s Eleni Karantali jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in the first set before Esposito came back to claim the set 6-4. Esposito carried that momentum into the second set, securing a 6-3 second set win to clinch the team victory for Auburn.
With the match decided, Refaat added a straight-set win at the No. 4 position. The remaining two matches went to 10-point third-set tiebreakers, where Okutoyi prevailed 10-6 to give Auburn its sixth point.
The victory improved Auburn’s record to 7-0 on the season and narrowed the all-time series against Georgia Tech to 16-14 in favor of the Yellow Jackets.
Auburn will host Nevada, Florida State and Tulane for ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday and Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, with a berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on the line. The Tigers will face Tulane at noon CT on Saturday before meeting either Nevada or Florida State on Sunday.
Live video and live scoring will be available at AuburnTigers.com. Fans in attendance Saturday will receive women’s tennis trading cards while supplies last. Admission to all matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center is free, and more fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
#4 Auburn 6, Georgia Tech 1
Singles Results:
- Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-3, 0-6, 1-0 (10-8)
- E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Taly Licht (GT) 6-4, 6-1
- Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Given Roach (GT) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)
- Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Olivia Carneiro (GT) 6-3, 6-1
- #27 Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Sabritt Dozier (GT) 6-2, 6-1
- #28 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Eleni Karantali (GT) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles Results:
- #59 DJ Bennett/Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Olivia Carneiro/Taly Licht (GT) 6-2
- E. Khairutdinova/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Given Roach/Eleni Karantali (GT) 5-3
- Merna Refaat/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Alejandra Cruz/Sabritt Dozier (GT) 6-1
Time of match: 2:45 Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1; Singles: 2,5,6,4,1,3 Official: Donna Jerome