ATHENS, Ga. – No. 4 Auburn women’s tennis dropped its first conference match of the season Saturday afternoon, falling to top-ranked Georgia 4-0 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.
“Really tough match,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “All credit to Georgia for being ready to go. They played and coached better than us. It was an amazing environment here for a college tennis match, and we were lucky to be a part of it, but we really didn’t bring our side of things. In the first doubles point we’ve lost all year, I don’t think we handled the environment too well, and we lost a bunch of games in a row. It was disappointing after losing doubles to lose four first sets in this environment and not turn any.
“We want to be back here in May, possibly playing them again in this environment. We have to get tougher, better and keep our goals the same because they are within our control. I’m excited to see how we respond to this. We need to get better, become a better team and become tougher tennis players in the next couple of months. I wouldn’t choose any other group of players to have on my team going forward.”
In doubles, Georgia got off to a fast start with a 6-3 win at the No. 2 position. On the top doubles court, Georgia’s Anastasiia Lopata and Patricija Paukstyte jumped out to a 3-1 lead over Auburn’s DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito. The Auburn duo fought back to trail 5-4 later in the match, but the Bulldog pair ultimately won 6-4 to clinch the doubles point. Auburn had won all 25 doubles points this season entering Saturday’s match.
Georgia kept the momentum in singles, winning the first set on four courts. Auburn’s Angella Okutoyi dominated her opening set over Deniz Dilek 6-0, while Auburn’s Ashton Bowers won her first set over Anastasiia Gureva in a tiebreaker.
The Bulldogs then closed out a 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 2 singles position to take a 2-0 lead. On court five, Georgia’s Emma Dong took advantage of early leads in both sets to defeat Merna Refaat 6-2, 6-2 and extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 3-0.
On the top singles court, Lopata jumped out to a 5-2 advantage in the first set over Bennett before closing it out 6-3. In the second set, Lopata won three straight games to take a 4-1 lead and ultimately won 6-3, 6-2 to clinch the team victory for the Bulldogs.
The loss drops Auburn’s record to 24-2 this season and 8-1 in conference play. Georgia is responsible for both of the Tigers’ losses this season, with the first coming in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in February. Up next, Auburn will host Mississippi State at the Yarbrough Tennis Center on Thursday at 5 p.m. CT.
Fans in attendance at Thursday evening’s match will receive free vintage Auburn women’s tennis T-shirts while supplies last.
#1 Georgia 4, #4 Auburn 0
Singles Results:
- #28 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. #43 DJ Bennett (AU) 6-3, 6-2
- #6 Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. #55 Ekaterina Khaurutdin (AU) 6-1, 6-1
- #68 Deniz Dilek (UGA) vs. #94 Angella Okutoyi (AU) 0-6, 6-5, unfinished
- #42 Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) vs. #38 Ashton Bowers (AU) 6-7 (2-7), 3-2, unfinished
- Emma Dong (UGA) def. #122 Merna Refaat (AU) 6-2, 6-2
- #97 Sofia Rojas (UGA) vs. #49 Ava Esposito (AU) 7-6 (7-5), 2-2, unfinished
Doubles Results:
- Anastasiia Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. #16 DJ Bennett/Ava Esposito (AU) 6-4
- #7 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. #20 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AU) 6-3
- Anastasiia Gureva/Emma Dong (UGA) vs. Ekaterina Khaurutdin/Ashton Bowers (AU) 4-5, unfinished
Time of match: 2:14 Order of finish: Doubles: 2,1; Singles: 2,5,1