AUBURN, Ala. – The historic season for Auburn women’s tennis continued Friday evening, as the top-ranked Tigers downed No. 15 Duke 4-2 in the NCAA Super Regional at the Yarbrough Tennis Center to punch their ticket to the national quarterfinals for the first time in program history. The final three rounds of the NCAA Championship will take place at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.
With the Tigers leading 3-2, Auburn senior Angella Okutoyi came through with a three-set victory over Duke’s Liv Hovde, highlighted by a 6-0 final set, to deliver Auburn to the round of 16 win.
📣 ANGIE, ANGIE, ANGIE 📣#NoWeakness shown in that final set 😤#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/cm1oYP3Vpw
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 9, 2026
“It was a good performance and we fought really hard,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said after the historic victory. “I don’t know if we necessarily played our best tennis, but we found a way to win. Duke is a really good team, and they’re a little under-ranked. Things were tricky because we were meant to play outside, then had about an hour delay and had to come inside against a team that plays inside a lot.
“Getting off the court quickly in doubles really helped, then Ashton (Bowers) finding a way to win that first set and have some of the other girls turn matches was big. Ava (Esposito) finding a way to win was huge and Angie (Okutoyi) was just ice cold down the stretch. All of the pressure and expectation was on us, and we found a way to put three points on the board in singles.”
Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova set the tone early in doubles for Auburn, earning a quick 6-1 victory at the No. 3 position for their 29th of the season. At the No. 2 position, Okutoyi and Merna Refaat took an early lead with a break before winning four straight games to close out a 6-1 win and clinch the doubles point for the Tigers.
Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat clinch the doubles point for the Tigers 💪🏻#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/deznvL54rz
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 8, 2026
Neither team had a clear advantage to begin singles, with both teams earning an opening set in three matches. Khairutdinova and Ava Esposito each won their respective opening sets 6-2, while Bowers broke serve twice to finish her first set win against Shavit Kimchi 7-5.
At the No. 2 singles position, Khairutdinova won back-to-back games on deciding points to take a 4-1 lead in the first set over Aspen Schuman before finishing the set with a 6-2 win. She then dominated the second set, breaking serve three times to claim the match 6-2, 6-1 and give Auburn a 2-0 lead. The win improved the Auburn senior’s singles record to 18-6 this spring.
The Blue Devils then responded by converting two straight-set wins from Irina Balus at the No. 1 position and Claire An at the No. 4 position to tie the score 2-2.
Auburn’s Ava Esposito and Duke’s Eleana Yu were tied 2-2 early in the first set before Esposito caught fire, winning four consecutive games to take the set 6-2. The two went back and forth in the second set, with Yu taking a 4-2 lead after winning back-to-back games on deciding points. The Auburn junior came back to tie the set at four and eventually force a tiebreaker. With the tiebreaker tied at three, Esposito won four straight points to win the match 6-2, 7-6 (3) and put the Tigers one point away from a team victory.
At the No. 3 position, Okutoyi jumped out to a 4-2 opening-set lead before Hovde responded with three straight games to take a 5-4 lead, then later earned a break to love to win the set 7-5. Hovde continued her momentum in the second set, taking a 4-1 lead. The Auburn senior then held serve, earned a crucial break on a deciding point, and held serve again on a deciding point to even the set at four. With the set tied 5-5, Okutoyi earned another break before holding serve in the final game to win the set 7-5 and force a third set.
In the decisive third set, the Auburn senior dominated, serving a bagel to complete a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0 comeback victory and spark a celebration with her teammates.
“When I was down 4-1 in the second, I was making so many mistakes, but my coaches were telling me to just try and make the points longer and tougher,” Okutoyi said. “I told myself that it was do or die because the points were going very quickly, and I needed to change the momentum and the rhythm. Once I did that, you could tell she started to break down. So I feel like just changing my mindset to play longer points and putting all the balls on the court really changed the match.”
The win improves Auburn’s record to 35-3 this season and extends its winning streak to nine matches dating back to April 4. The Tigers’ victory in their final home match of the season secured a perfect 22-0 record at the Yarbrough Tennis Center this year.
“I’m excited for the girls,” continued Szabo. “They’ve been making history all year and more history for the team. The Auburn Family showed up and showed so much support. Playing this match at home definitely helped us get over the line. That energy probably gave us the edge down the stretch, especially with Angie finding a way to win.”
Auburn will face the winner of Saturday afternoon’s match between No. 7 Virginia and No. 10 LSU, which will be played at noon CT at the Virginia Tennis Facility in Charlottesville. The national quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are scheduled for Friday through Sunday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia. The time for Friday’s quarterfinal match is to be determined.
#1 Auburn 4, #15 Duke 2
Singles Results:
- #13 Irina Balus (DUKE) def. #16 DJ Bennett (AUB) 7-5, 6-3
- #31 E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. #52 Aspen Schuman (DUKE) 6-2, 6-1
- #55 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. #124 Liv Hovde (DUKE) 5-7, 7-5, 6-0
- Claire An (DUKE) def. Merna Refaat (AUB) 6-2, 6-4
- #58 Ashton Bowers (AUB) vs. Shavit Kimchi (DUKE) 5-7, 6-7 (3-7), 0-1, unfinished
- #68 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Eleana Yu (DUKE) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles Results:
- #2 DJ Bennett/Ava Esposito (AUB) vs. #50 Irina Balus/Shavit Kimchi (DUKE) 3-4, unfinished
- Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Claire An/Eleana Yu (DUKE) 6-1
- Ashton Bowers/E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Liv Hovde/Aspen Schuman (DUKE) 6-1
Time of match: 2:43 Order of finish: Doubles: 3,2; Singles: 2,1,4,6,3 Official: Sharon Wright