Russo finishes runner-up at ITA Southern Regional Championship

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Oct. 23, 2017

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AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn women's tennis sophomore Taylor Russo finished runner-up in the singles final at the ITA Southern Regional Championship Monday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

Russo, No. 60 in the preseason singles rankings, faced the No. 1 seed in the tournament, No. 17 Arianne Hartono of Ole Miss in the singles final. After dropping the first set 6-1, Russo fought back in a well-played back-and-forth second set that was tied at four games apiece before Hartono claimed the final two games to win 6-4.

For the weekend, the Deerfield Beach, Fla. native compiled five wins in singles, including a win over No. 63 Ryann Foster of LSU, and one win in doubles.

"I'm very proud of Taylor," head coach Lauren Spencer said. "She had a terrific weekend with some really big wins. I know that she will continue to play with some confidence and at a high level the rest of the way this season."

As a team, the Tigers picked up 10 total wins in singles and two in doubles over the course of the weekend.

Auburn women's tennis returns to action Oct. 27-29 at the Kansas Invite in Lawrence, Kan.