OXFORD, Miss. – The Auburn women's tennis team fell short on the road Sunday afternoon, dropping a 4-2 decision to Ole Miss at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
Auburn jumped out to an early lead by taking the doubles point for the first time in the last four matches but could not carry the momentum over to singles.
The team of Taylor Russo and Lindsay Song got Auburn going with a 6-2 win at the No. 2 doubles spot, and the pairing of Jaeda Daniel and Yu Chen won 6-3 at the No. 3 position to clinch the opening point and give Auburn a 1-0 lead.
From there, however, Ole Miss took control, moving ahead 2-1 with wins on courts two and three. Alannah Griffin pulled the Tigers back even at 2-2 with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the No. 4 singles spot. Daniel was unable to finish off a comeback bid at the top spot, dropping a 6-4, 6-4 decision to give the Rebels a 3-2 lead, and Chen fell at the No. 5 position 7-6 (2), 6-1, as Ole Miss clinched the match. Caroline Turner dropped her first set but was ahead 5-3 in the second set as the match was halted.
Auburn will have just one match next week as the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama. The match is set for 5 p.m. CT Friday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. The teams met previously this season at the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery; Auburn captured a 4-3 win on Feb. 23.
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Ole Miss 4, #39 Auburn 2
Singles
1. Sabina Machalova (OM) def. #72 Jaeda Daniel (AU), 6-4, 6-4
2. Tea Jandric (OM) def. Madeline Meredith (AU), 6-1, 6-2
3. Anna Vrbenska (OM) def. Taylor Russo (AU), 6-3, 6-3
4. Alannah Griffin (AU) def. Alexa Bortles (OM), 6-3, 6-3
5. Tereza Janatova (OM) def. Yu Chen (AU), 7-6 (2), 6-1
6. Caroline Turner (AU) vs. Allie Sanford (OM), 2-6, 5-3 unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 1, 5
Doubles
1. Bortles/Machalova (OM) def. Meredith/Griffin, 6-3
2. Russo/Song (AU) def. Jandric/Vrbenska (OM), 6-2
3. Daniel/Chen (AU) def. Kriscunas/Janatova (OM), 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2