MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 13 Auburn women's tennis team fought to the last point, but came up just short in a 4-2 loss to No. 13 Oklahoma State Friday afternoon at the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic.
The Tigers (11-2), after winning the doubles point, lost their first three singles matches and were down a set on two other courts, but got a win from Jaeda Daniel at the No. 1 spot and forced third sets on the two remaining courts. However, Oklahoma State pulled away at the end to secure the victory.
Auburn's top team of freshman Sophia Graver and junior Taylor Russo took down the nation's 17th-ranked pair of OSU's Sofia Blanco and Catherine Gulihur, 6-2, to square the doubles match after OSU won on court three. Jaeda Daniel and Madeline Meredith then rallied from down 3-5 to win three straight games, then won the match 7-6 in a tiebreaker to give Auburn a 1-0 lead.
The Cowgirls then posted straight-sets wins on courts 2, 3, and 6 to take a 3-1 lead while winning the first set on courts 4 and 5. Daniel, ranked No. 75 nationally in singles, earned her first ranked win of the dual season with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over No. 23 Katarina Stresnakova to pull the Tigers back within one at 3-2.
Senior Alannah Griffin then rallied from down a set on court 5 to force a third, as did Taylor Russo on court 4. Griffin took OSU's Blanco to a tiebreaker in the third set, but fell short as Oklahoma State clinched the match with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 win.
The Tigers played doubles matches against Fresno State in the consolation late Friday afternoon; singles play will take place Saturday morning. The winner of that match will face the winner of Yale and Alabama in the weekend's final match.
Live scoring and tournament draws are available at BlueGrayTennis.com. Fans can also follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.
For the latest on Auburn Women's Tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#13 Oklahoma State 4, #37 Auburn 2
Singles
1. #75 Jaeda Daniel (AU) def. #23 Katerina Stresnakova (OSU), 7-5, 6-3
2. Lisa Marie Rioux (OSU) def. Madeline Meredith (AU), 6-1, 6-4
3. Bunyami Thamchaiwat (OSU) def. Sophia Graver (AU), 6-2, 6-4
4. Taylor Russo (AU) vs. #70 Marina Guinart (OSU), 6-7, 6-4, 1-4 unfinished
5. Sofia Blanco (OSU) def. Alannah Griffin (AU), 7-5, 2-6, 7-6
6. Catherine Gulihur (OSU) def. Yu Chen (AU), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 2, 3, 1, 5
Doubles
1. #43 Graver/Russo (AU) def. #17 Blanco/Guilhur (OSU), 6-2
2. Daniel/Meredith (AU) def. Thamchaiwat/Arnold (OSU), 7-6
3. Rioux/Guinart (OSU) def. Chen/Griffin (AU), 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Time of match: 3:25