AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's tennis team closed out the non-conference segment of their season with a 7-0 sweep of North Florida Saturday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Auburn (5-1) finished off its third home shutout in as many matches and heads into SEC play on a two-match win streak.
"We did a good job setting a tone in doubles," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "As a doubles pairing, your partner should be better because she has the opportunity to play with you.
"In singles we still need to remain focused on rewarding ourselves for good misses. Playing aggressive tennis means sometimes we will miss, but as the match progresses, the execution will be sharper because of the repetitions we earn early in the match."
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead after doubles with wins at the second and third positions. Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach earned their fourth win of the spring with a 6-2 win at the second doubles spot. On court three, Carolyn Ansari and Madeline Meredith teamed up for the first time this season to pick up a 6-3 win and clinch the first point of the match. Auburn's 11th-ranked tandem of Selin Ovunc and Taylor Russo were on serve at 4-5 on court one when doubles play was halted.
In singles, Axon improved to 5-1 on the spring with a quick 6-1, 6-1 win over UNF's Constanza Gorches at the No. 4 spot. It was 3-0 shortly thereafter as Ansari downed Ana Paula Melilo, 6-2, 6-1, at the third singles position. And 99th-ranked Russo clinched the win for Auburn on court five with a 6-1, 6-2 win over UNF's Valentina Mariotto.
Yu Chen fought back from an early first-set deficit on court two to pick up a 7-5, 6-3 win over Catherine Gulihur to make it 5-0. Ovunc, ranked 62nd nationally, made it 6-0 with a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 win at the top spot over Lucia Montano. And Flach went the distance with UNF's Summer Yardley at the sixth singles spot, pulling out a victory in a third-set match tiebreak, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8).
Meredith and freshman Anastasia Astakhova played exhibition sets as well. Meredith won her first set 6-2 and was leading 1-0 in the second when the team match ended. Astakhova won her only set 6-4.
The Tigers open up Southeastern Conference play next weekend with a pair of home matches. Auburn hosts No. 18 South Carolina at 3 p.m. CT Friday, then take on No. 22 Florida at noon CT Sunday.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn 7, North Florida 0
Singles
1. Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Lucia Montano (UNF), 7-5, 6-4
2. Yu Chen (AU) def. Catherine Gulihur (UNF), 7-5, 6-3
3. Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. Ana Paula Melilo (UNF), 6-2, 6-1
4. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Constanza Gorches (UNF), 6-1, 6-1
5. #99 Taylor Russo (AU) def. Valentina Mariotto (UNF), 6-1, 6-2
6. Adeline Flach (AU) def. Summer Yardley (UNF), 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5*, 2, 1, 6
Doubles
1. #11 Russo/Ovunc (AU) vs. Gulihur/Melilo (UNF), 4-5 unfinished
2. Axon/Flach (AU) def. Montano/Gorches (UNF), 6-2
3. Ansari/Meredith (AU) def. Mariotto/Lodzki (UNF), 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3*
