LEXINGTON, Ky. – After playing five hours of tennis, No. 9 Auburn prevailed over Kentucky 4-2 in a hard-fought match that finished after 10 p.m. local time on Friday evening at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Kentucky. In the match, which was delayed before being moved indoors due to weather, Auburn dropped the doubles point but picked up four singles wins, including a straight set win from freshman Alice Battesti that clinched the victory late.
“A wild match,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said after the longest match to this point of the season. “We tried to play outdoors but water was coming up through the courts with all of the rain. Having to play on four indoor courts is challenging and Kentucky is the toughest place to play indoors in the SEC but we managed to scrape through.
“We had chances to win most of the sets we lost, and we need to continue to be champions in the big moments and not let the adversity snowball. Time to rest and get ready for another tough road test on Sunday.”
The Wildcats started with the advantage after the doubles point. Auburn’s DJ Bennett and Ava Hrastar won five of the first six games over Kentucky’s No. 80 Ellie Eades and Lizzy Stevens at the top doubles position. The Kentucky pair battled back late in the match, but Bennett and Hrastar prevailed 6-4. Kentucky pulled away late for a win at the No. 3 doubles position and won in a tiebreaker at the No. 2 doubles position to win the point.
Each of the top four singles matches then began on the four indoor courts at the Boone Tennis Complex. Tess Bucher of Kentucky won three consecutive games to claim the opening over Merna Refaat of Auburn, but Refaat bounced back by riding a 4-2 lead to a 6-2 second set win. In the third set, the Auburn freshman won each of the first three games before claiming the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and give Auburn its first point of the contest.
Hrastar then recorded a straight set victory at the No. 3 singles position. Her back-and-forth opening set against Lizzy Stevens went to a tiebreaker, which Hrastar claimed 7-2. With the second set tied at four, Hrastar won each of the next two games to claim the match and give the Tigers a 2-1 advantage.
Ava Hrastar with a straight set win to give Auburn a 2️⃣-1️⃣ lead in Lexington#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/VGbkQnczb1
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) April 5, 2025
Angella Okutoyi prevailed in a tight opening set over No. 60 Julia Zhu on court two. Zhu started the second set strong by winning three straight games and eventually taking a 5-2 lead. Okutoyi then caught fire and won each of the next five games to claim the upset win 6-4, 7-5.
Auburn had a chance to clinch the match on court one, but Kentucky’s No. 65 Zoe Hammond outlasted Bennett in three sets to cut the Tigers’ lead to 3-2 and give her team a chance to win at a time when the No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches just beginning.
Auburn freshman Alice Battesti claimed her first four games against Kentucky’s Ellie Myers which led to a 6-2 opening set victory. Battesti again jumped out to an early lead in the second set 4-1. Myers fought back to close the gap in the second set, but the Auburn freshman prevailed for a 6-2, 6-4 win to clinch the team win. Battesti clinched the match at 10:15 p.m. local time, exactly five hours after the match began.
The win improved the Tigers’ overall record to 19-5 this season and their conference record to 8-4.
Up next, Auburn will stay on the road to face No. 6 Tennessee at noon CT at the Goodfriend Tennis Center in Knoxville. Live video and live scoring of the match will be available online.
#9 Auburn 4, #46 Kentucky 2
Singles Results:
- #65 Zoe Hammond (UK) def. #3 DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
- #74 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. #60 Julia Zhu (UK) 6-4, 7-5
- #86 Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. Lizzy Stevens (UK) 7-6 (2), 6-4
- #48 Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Tess Bucher (UK) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
- Asuncion Jadue (UK) vs. Ava Esposito (AUB) 7-6 (9), 2-4, unfinished
- Alice Battesti (AUB) def. Ellie Myers (UK) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Results:
- #21 DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. #80 Ellie Eades/Lizzy Stevens (UK) 6-4
- Zoe Hammond/Asuncion Jadue (UK) def. Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) 7-6 (3)
- Ellie Myers/Julia Zhu (UK) def. Ava Esposito/Maria Garcia (AUB) 7-5
Time of match: 5:00; Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3,2; Singles: 4,3,2,1,6