WACO, Texas – The Auburn women's tennis team picked up six wins to open the weekend's action Friday at the H-E-B Invitational, hosted by Baylor.
"Every match, win or lose, is an opportunity to learn," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "There were moments of great tennis today and moments where we needed a bit more emotional investment to regain momentum. Overall, there are a lot of positives we will take from today as we continue to grow."
The doubles team of sophomore Yu Chen and junior Lindsay Song earned a pair of victories to open the day's play. Chen and Song defeated Olaya/Slaughter of Arkansas 6-2 in their opening match, then came back with a 6-2 win over Aziz/Timakova of Iowa State in the second round. They will face Shakhraichuk and Sorokolet of Baylor in Saturday's quarterfinal.
In singles, all three Auburn players in the Gold bracket won their opening matches. Chen defeated Tijana Spasojevic of Texas, 7-6 (3), 6-2; freshman Carolyn Ansari won her match with Kentucky's Carla Girbau, 6-3, 6-2, and senior Georgie Axon defeated Azul Pedemonti of Houston, 6-4, 7-5.
Chen earned her fourth victory of the day in the second round of singles with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Akvile Parazinskaite of Kentucky to advance to the quarterfinal. Ansari and Axon would drop their second-round matches with Axon falling in a third-set tiebreaker.
Play continues Saturday at the H-E-B Invitational with quarterfinal and semifinal rounds in singles and doubles. Two other Auburn players will begin competition at the ITA All-American Championships Saturday in Tulsa, Okla., as junior Madeline Meredith and freshman Selin Ovunc will play in the pre-qualifying singles draw.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn Results – H-E-B Invitational
Friday, Oct. 4
Doubles
Chen/Song (AU) def. Olaya/Slaughter (ARK), 6-2
Chen/Song (AU) def. Aziz/Timakova (ISU), 6-2
Keller/Rijkers (ARK) def. Ansari/Axon (AU), 6-3
Singles – First Round
Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. Carla Girbau (UK), 6-3, 6-2
Yu Chen (AU) def. Tijana Spasojevic (Texas), 7-6 (3), 6-2
Georgie Axon (AU) def. Azul Pedemonti (UH), 6-4, 7-5
Emily Casati (ILL) def. Lindsay Song (AU), 6-0, 6-3
Singles – Second Round
Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAMU) def. Carolyn Ansari (AU), 6-4, 6-2
Diana Tkachenko (UK) def. Georgie Axon (AU), 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (2)
Yu Chen (AU) def. Akvile Parazinskaite (UK), 6-2, 6-3