AUBURN, Ala. – Two Auburn women's tennis student-athletes earned a bid to the NCAA Championships as the singles and doubles selections were announced Tuesday.
Sophomore Selin Ovunc was selected to the singles field, and Ovunc and grad student Taylor Russo earned a bid to the doubles championship.
The singles and doubles championships will be conducted May 23-28 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs May 16-22.
Ovunc, a native of Ankara, Turkey, is 13-10 overall in singles with an 8-9 mark in dual matches, playing every match at the No. 1 position. She earned a pair of wins over ranked foes, defeating No. 50 Taylor Bridges (LSU) and No. 35 Indianna Spink (Arkansas), the SEC Freshman of the Year. Ovunc was ranked 56th in the most recent published ITA national singles rankings and was selected to the All-SEC Second Team.
As a doubles tandem, Ovunc and Russo were 7-4 on the year playing at the top spot in every match. The pair was one of the nation's top doubles teams, ranked as high as 10th nationally with two top-30 wins early in the spring season. They were also well on their way to an NCAA bid in 2020 before the season was cut short, ranked 14th in the season's last published ITA rankings.
Ovunc's singles bid is the ninth in Auburn women's tennis history, and Ovunc and Russo's doubles selection is the 12th for the Tigers. Russo also played in doubles in the 2017 NCAA Championships, advancing to the second round with partner Alizee Michaud.
Auburn begins the team portion of the NCAA Championships this weekend as the Tigers face Oklahoma State at noon CT Friday in Tallahassee, Fla.
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