AUBURN, Ala. – No. 4 Auburn women’s tennis defeated Tulane by a 4-0 score on Saturday in the first round of ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Tigers will play the winner of Saturday afternoon’s match between Nevada and Florida State for a trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
“I thought it was a good performance,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “We played outside, and we haven’t been outside since last Friday with the cold weather and the rain. I thought we did a good job in doubles of building leads and dominating there. We played some different players in singles, still trying to figure out what our best mix is, and we were in some tricky spots at times. But at the end of the day, we were winning on all courts when the match was wrapped up.
“Every win is special, so we’ll enjoy this one for a little bit and get ready for tomorrow. Whether we play inside or outside, we’ll be ready for both. Going to Indoors is a big deal, so we’ll have to play our best match of the year.”
Auburn set the tone early by earning quick doubles wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat claimed a 6-2 victory on court two, while Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova secured court three with a 6-3 win to give the Tigers the doubles point.
In her first singles match at Auburn, Stefani Webb won each of the first four games of the opening set against Leigh Van Zyl before taking it 6-1. She then won five consecutive games to open the second set and closed out the match 6-1, 6-2 to give Auburn a 2-0 team lead.
Senior DJ Bennett cruised through her first set on the top singles court, defeating Campbell Ricci 6-1. The two traded holds early in the second set until Bennett earned a break for a 5-3 lead before closing out the straight-set victory.
Freshman Eva Ionescu opened strong against Natalia Perez with a 6-2 first-set win. Two early breaks in the second set helped Ionescu build a 4-1 lead before she closed out the match 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the team victory for the Tigers.
At the time Ionescu clinched the match, Alice Battesti held match point at the No. 6 singles position.
Up next, Auburn will face either Nevada or Florida State at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. With a win, Auburn would qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the fifth consecutive season. The championship will be held Feb. 6–10 in Chicago.
Auburn women’s tennis trading cards will be available to fans in attendance at Sunday’s match while supplies last. Live video and live scoring for all matches during ITA Kickoff Weekend will be available at AuburnTigers.com. More fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
#4 Auburn 4, Tulane 0
Singles Results:
- DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Campbell Ricci (TULW) 6-1, 6-3
- Angella Okutoyi (AUB) vs. Summer Chandler (TULW) 0-6, 6-4, 3-0, unfinished
- Stefani Webb (AUB) def. Leigh Van Zyl (TULW) 6-1, 6-2
- Eva Ionescu (AUB) def. Natalia Perez (TULW) 6-2, 6-3
- #28 Ava Esposito (AUB) vs. Micah Pierce (TULW) 7-5, 4-5, unfinished
- #90 Alice Battesti (AUB) vs. Natalia Fantini (TULW) 6-0, 5-4, unfinished
Doubles Results:
- #59 DJ Bennett/Ava Esposito (AUB) vs. Campbell Ricci/Summer Chandler (TULW) 5-1, unfinished
- Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Delanie Tribby/Leigh Van Zyl (TULW) 6-2
- Ashton Bowers/E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Micah Pierce/Natalia Fantini (TULW) 6-3
Time of match: 2:06 Order of finish: Doubles: 2,3; Singles: 3,1,4 Official: Donna Jerome