BATON ROUGE, La. – Auburn women's tennis posted an undefeated day in singles, winning all eight of their matches on the second day at the ITA Southern Regional Championships Friday.
All six Tigers in the main draw won their opening matches and advanced to the round of 32, highlighted by a victory over a ranked opponent by senior Taylor Russo.
"We are proud of how the girls competed today," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "We will continue to play our best tennis at the end of matches if we reward ourselves for doing the right things. The professionalism we exude in our preparation, warm-up, and cool-down will serve us well moving forward as we embrace being disciplined in the details."
Russo defeated 56th-ranked Sabina Machalova of Ole Miss in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to lead the Auburn effort on the day. Auburn's other five players earned straight-set wins. Selin Ovunc won 6-1, 6-0 over Mississippi State's Valeria Nikolaev; Georgie Axon downed MSU's Alexandra Mikhailuk, 6-1, 6-4, and Carolyn Ansari won over Adelaide Lavery of Tulane, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Yu Chen remained unbeaten in singles this fall with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over ULM's Maria Alfaro, and Madeline Meredith rounded out the perfect day in the main draw with a 6-3, 6-2 win over McNeese's Marija Mastilovic.
The Tigers also picked up two doubles wins in the main draw. The team of Russo/Ovunc made quick work of Southern Miss' Amaning/Yazgan, 8-1, and the team of Meredith/Axon defeated Lavery/Fabrizi of Tulane, 8-6.
Lindsay Song and Caraline Scheufler also picked up a win apiece in the back draw of singles. Song downed NSU's Pati Polanska, 7-5, 6-1, and Scheufler won over ULM's Angeles Cueto after a retirement while leading 5-0.
One round of doubles and two rounds of singles are scheduled for Saturday. Play gets underway at 9 a.m. CT at the LSU Tennis Complex.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn Women's Tennis Results – Friday, Oct. 18
ITA Southern Regional Championships
Main Draw Singles – First Round
Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Valeria Nikolaev (MSU), 6-1, 6-0
Georgie Axon (AU) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU), 6-1, 6-4
Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. Adelaide Lavery (TULN), 7-6 (3), 6-4
Taylor Russo (AU) def. Sabina Machalova (OM), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Yu Chen (AU) def. Maria Alfaro (ULM), 6-1, 6-4
Madeline Meredith (AU) def. Marija Mastilovic (McNeese), 6-3, 6-2
Singles Back Draw
Lindsay Song (AU) def. Pati Polanska (NSU), 7-5, 6-1
Caraline Scheufler (AU) def. Angeles Cueto (ULM), 5-0, ret.
Main Draw Doubles
Burton/de la Garza (USM) def. Ansari/Chen (AU), 8-7 (5)
Meredith/Axon (AU) def. Lavery/Fabrizi (TULN), 8-6
Russo/Ovunc (AU) def. Amaning/Yazgan (USM), 8-1