AUBURN, Ala. – No. 4 Auburn women’s tennis defeated Grand Canyon and Middle Tennessee State in a Sunday doubleheader at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Tigers defeated Grand Canyon 6-1 and MTSU 7-0.
“I thought it was a good day,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “We just wanted to get everyone out there and get some matches before SEC play begins. Some of the girls didn’t play as well in the morning as they did later in the day, which I think is a positive. It was a big positive that we were able to get Merna back out there after getting hurt, so for her to get through and play well was exciting. A lot of props to Hanna (Arntsen), our athletic trainer, for getting her healthy and back on track. She’s been the MVP this week.
“We got to fiddle around with the doubles a bit, and it was nice to be back at home after playing the last few matches on the road. Overall, a good day, but still some room to improve.”
Auburn’s Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova started the doubles point strong with a 6-2 win at the No. 3 position to improve their dual-match record to a perfect 12-0 this season. The Auburn duo of DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito then defeated Karina Hofbauer and Hams Metwally 6-3 to secure the doubles point.
In singles, sophomore Alice Battesti dominated at the No. 6 position, winning 6-2, 6-1 to give Auburn a quick 2-0 lead. Khairutdinova followed with a straight-set win of her own, 6-0, 6-3.
On the top singles court, Bennett finished off a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Hofbauer to clinch the team win for the Tigers. After the team victory was secured, Auburn added straight-set wins from Stefani Webb and Esposito.
Auburn continued its strong play in the second match of the day against Middle Tennessee State. Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat competed at the top doubles position against the Blue Raiders and earned a 6-3 victory. Battesti and Bowers, playing together for the first time as doubles partners, won 6-2 at the No. 3 position to secure the doubles point.
Esposito was first to finish in singles, defeating Zora Koenig 6-1, 6-0. In her first singles match since Feb. 2, Refaat defeated Rutuja Chaphalker 6-0, 6-1 to give Auburn a 3-0 lead. With the win, Refaat improved to 7-0 in dual matches this season.
Okutoyi then secured a straight-set win over Lena Peyer on the top singles court to clinch the team victory and complete the doubleheader sweep. After the match was decided, Battesti, Eva Ionescu and Bowers each finished straight-set victories to complete the shutout.
With the win, Auburn’s record improves to 15-1 overall and a perfect 11-0 at home. The Tigers will open conference play next, traveling to No. 24 Florida on Feb. 21. The SEC opener is scheduled to begin at noon CT.
#4 Auburn 6, Grand Canyon 1
Singles Results:
- #58 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Karina Hofbauer (GCU) 6-1, 6-3
- E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Bella Crossman (GCU) 6-0, 6-3
- Stefani Webb (AUB) def. Gala Arangio (GCU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-1
- Hams Metwally (GCU) def. Eva Ionescu (AUB) 6-4, 6-3
- #31 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Amalia Suciu (GCU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
- Alice Battesti (AUB) def. Sydney Schnell (GCU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles Results:
- #84 DJ Bennett/Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Karina Hofbauer/Hams Metwally (GCU) 6-3
- Angella Okutoyi/Stefani Webb (AUB) vs. Gala Arangio/Bella Crossman (GCU) 4-5, unfinished
- E. Khairutdinova/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Amalia Suciu/Sydney Schnell (GCU) 6-2
Time of match: 2:25 Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1; Singles: 6,2,1,4,3,5 Official: Donna Jerome
#4 Auburn 7, MTSU 0
Singles Results:
- #84 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Lena Peyer (MTSU) 6-0, 6-3
- #30 Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Sthefany Lima (MTSU) 6-2, 6-3
- Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Rutuja Chaphalkar (MTSU) 6-0, 6-1
- #31 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Zora Koenig (MTSU) 6-1, 6-0
- Eva Ionescu (AUB) def. Zenn Lim (MTSU) 6-2, 6-3
- Alice Battesti (AUB) def. Sadbaroy Kholdarova (MTSU) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles Results:
- #76 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Sara Conde/Zora Koenig (MTSU) 6-3
- Eva Ionescu/DJ Bennett (AUB) vs. Rutuja Chaphalkar/Sthefany Lima (MTSU) 4-3, unfinished
- Alice Battesti/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Zenn Lim/Lena Peyer (MTSU) 6-2
Time of match: 2:03 Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3; Singles: 4,3,1,6,5,2; Official: Donna Jerome