BATON ROUGE, La. – Auburn women's tennis saw two singles players and two doubles teams advance to the quarterfinals Saturday at the ITA Southern Regional Championships.
Freshman Selin Ovunc and senior Taylor Russo moved on to the singles quarterfinals, while the doubles teams of Ovunc/Russo and Madeline Meredith/Georgie Axon advanced to the doubles quarterfinals. In all, Auburn claimed nine wins on the third day of the event at the LSU Tennis Complex.
"We are improving and we saw a lot of good things today," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "As a coaching staff, we need to do a better job of helping our players believe in their preparation and training. In the big moments we sometimes doubted ourselves and didn't have a clear understanding of how to play within our limits and still apply consistent pressure. Tomorrow is another opportunity for all of the girls to grow and develop while competing with unshakeable fearlessness."
Ovunc continued her strong run through her freshman fall with a pair of straight-set victories. She downed UAB's Adela Wasserbauerova, 6-1, 6-3, in the second round in the morning, then came back in the afternoon with another 6-1, 6-3 win over Tulane's Lahari Yelamanchili.
Russo also moved onto the quarterfinals with a pair of wins. She defeated Tulane's Matea Mihaljevic, 6-3, 6-3, in the second round and survived a first-set tiebreaker to win her Round of 16 match over Samford's Rouxanne van Rensburg, 7-6 (1), 6-3.
Meredith and Yu Chen won their second-round matches before falling in the round of 16. Meredith made quick work of Samford's Natalia de Ugarte, 6-0, 6-1, and Yu Chen won her 10th straight match with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Ole Miss' Alexa Bortles.
In doubles, both remaining Auburn teams moved onto the quarterfinals. Ovunc/Russo defeated Clark/Yelamanchili of Tulane, 8-4, and Meredith/Axon downed Alabama's Ito/Harvison, 8-3.
Freshman Caraline Scheufler also earned a win in the singles consolation, defeating Grace Anne Jones of Ole Miss, 6-2, 6-4.
Quarterfinals in both singles and doubles are set for Sunday. Results will be posted periodically on LSUSports.net.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn Women's Tennis Results – Saturday, Oct. 19
ITA Southern Regional Championships
Main Draw Singles – Round of 32
Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Adela Wasserbauerova (UAB), 6-1, 6-3
Mariella Minetti (NSU) def. Georgie Axon (AU), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1
Tereza Janatova (OM) def. Carolyn Ansari (AU), 7-6 (3), 6-4
Taylor Russo (AU) def. Matea Mihaljevic (TULN), 6-3, 6-3
Madeline Meredith (AU) def. Natalia de Ugarte (SAM), 6-0, 6-1
Yu Chen (AU) def. Alexa Bortles (OM), 6-1, 7-5
Round of 16
Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Lahari Yelamanchili (TULN), 6-1, 6-3
Taylor Russo (AU) def. Rouxanne Van Rensburg (SAM), 7-6 (1), 6-3
#114 Taylor Bridges (LSU) def. Madeline Meredith (AU), 6-2, 6-2
#41 Emma Antonaki (MSU) def. Yu Chen (AU), 6-0, 6-0
Singles Consolation
Luba Vasilyuk (LSU) def. Lindsay Song (AU), 6-3, 6-2
Caraline Scheufler (AU) def. Grace Anne Jones (OM), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles – Round of 16
Meredith/Axon (AU) def. Ito/Harvison (ALA), 8-3
Russo/Ovunc (AU) def. Clark/Yelamanchili (TULN), 8-4