AUBURN, Ala. – A relentless effort by the Auburn women's tennis team led to the Tigers' biggest win of the season to date as Auburn defeated No. 20 South Carolina 4-2 on a chilly Friday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The Tigers (6-1, 1-0 SEC) fell behind 2-0 early but clawed their way back, earning a pair of three-set wins and grinding out two other close victories to secure their first top-25 win under second-year head coach Caroline Lilley. It also ended a streak of 14 straight wins over SEC opponents by South Carolina (3-5, 0-1) that dated to the 2018-19 season.
"When you combine resilience, grit and courage, you have an unshakeable competitor," Lilley said. "What I enjoy most about coaching this team is how we choose to practice. Our attitudes, intensity, willingness to embrace adversity, and character on the practice court form great habits. We were pushed today, and even amidst adversity, we chose to find solutions."
South Carolina got on the board first with wins on courts two and three to claim the doubles point. The Gamecocks' team of Cruz and Gretkowski took the first match with a 6-1 win over Auburn's Carolyn Ansari and Madeline Meredith. Auburn evened things up as 11th-ranked Selin Ovunc and Taylor Russo won 6-3 at the No. 1 spot over South Carolina's 29th-ranked tandem of Megan Davies and Mia Horvit. But the Gamecocks broke the tie and claimed the match's first point with a 6-4 win on court two as Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach fell to 20th-ranked Emma Shelton and Silvia Chinellato.
It would be 2-0 Gamecocks as 34th-ranked Horvit took a 6-0, 6-1 win over 62nd-ranked Ovunc at the top singles spot. But it would be more than an hour until another match was decided as all five remaining singles matches were back-and-forth affairs.
Ansari got Auburn on the board with her first career win over a ranked opponent, earning a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over 93rd-ranked Shelton at the No. 3 singles spot. A few minutes later, Yu Chen also earned her highest-ranked victory as she downed 30th-ranked Davies 6-4, 6-4 at the second singles position, tying the team match 2-2.
Two of the three remaining matches went to a third set. Russo put the Tigers ahead 3-2 with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 win at the fifth singles spot. And then Axon – who fought off five set points in a first-set tiebreaker – clinched the match with a 7-6 (6), 7-5 win on court four to seal the Tigers' first win over the Gamecocks since 2017. Freshman Adeline Flach was a game away from her first SEC win, leading 5-2 in the third set when the match was halted.
Auburn wraps up the opening weekend of league play at noon CT Sunday when the Tigers host No. 22 Florida at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn 4, #20 South Carolina 2
Singles
1. #34 Mia Horvit (SC) def. #62 Selin Ovunc (AU), 6-0, 6-1
2. Yu Chen (AU) def. #30 Megan Davies (SC), 6-4, 6-4
3. Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. #93 Emma Shelton (SC), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Silvia Chinellato (SC), 7-6 (6), 7-5
5. #99 Taylor Russo (AU) def. Allie Gretkowski (SC), 6-4, 5-7, 6-1
6. Adeline Flach (AU) vs. Gabriela Martinez (SC), 6-3, 3-6, 5-2 unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 5, 4*
Doubles
1. #11 Ovunc/Russo (AU) def. #29 Horvit/Davies (SC), 6-3
2. #20 Shelton/Chinellato (SC) def. Axon/Flach (AU), 6-4
3. Cruz/Gretkowski (SC), def. Ansari/Meredith (AU), 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*
Auburn 6-1, 1-0 SEC
South Carolina 3-5, 0-1 SEC
Time of match: 3:07
