AUBURN, Ala. – The 20th-ranked Auburn women's tennis team came up just short in their 2021 home finale Saturday, dropping a 4-3 heartbreaker to No. 14 LSU at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
"We played a terrific doubles point today," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "Our sustained aggressive tennis was fun to watch. The competitiveness and commitment to playing the right way was unwavering.
"The fight, as always, is commendable. LSU played some great tennis down the stretch. When we earn windows of opportunity, we have to choose to jump through them. This weekend we were too passive; instead of sprinting through the finish line, we started looking around to see who else was in the race. As the head coach, I need to make sure that we have rituals to manage our matches, as well as recipes to finish. The destination will always be there, but the roadmap is where the adjustments will be made."
Auburn (12-5, 7-4 SEC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead with some of their best doubles play of the SEC season. Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach grabbed the first win, defeating LSU's 73rd-ranked tandem of Paris Corley and Taylor Bridges, 6-2. Just moments later, Auburn clinched the doubles point on court three with a 6-3 win from Yu Chen and Anastasia Astakhova. On court two, Carolyn Ansari and Selin Ovunc were just one point away from a win when doubles play was halted.
LSU got the first two points of singles. Astakhova fell to Samantha Buyckx, 6-4, 6-1 on court six, and Chen dropped a 6-3, 6-3 decision to 84th-ranked Safiya Carrington. Ovunc then earned her highest-ranked singles win of the year at the top spot, downing 50th-ranked Bridges, 7-5, 6-1, to tie the match at 2-all.
Axon put Auburn ahead 3-2 as she finished off a 6-3, 6-1 win over Nina Geissler at the No. 4 spot. The match then came down to a pair of three-setters on courts three and five. Ansari pushed No. 40 Corley to a third set, bouncing back from a first-set defeat, but Corley pulled away in the third for a 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 win. Flach then went to a third set on court five with Eden Richardson, but Richardson held on in the deciding set to clinch it for LSU with a 3-6, 7-6 (0), 6-3 win.
Following the match, Auburn seniors Taylor Russo and Lindsay Song were honored as part of Senior Day.
The Tigers wrap up the regular season next weekend with a pair of road matches. Auburn travels to Knoxville to take on Tennessee next Thursday, followed by the regular-season finale at Georgia on Saturday.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
#14 LSU 4, #20 Auburn 3
Singles
1. #62 Selin Ovunc (AU) def. #50 Taylor Bridges (LSU), 7-5, 6-1
2. #84 Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. #100 Yu Chen (AU), 6-3, 6-3
3. #40 Paris Corley (LSU) def. Carolyn Ansari (AU), 7-5, 4-6, 6-0
4. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Nina Geissler (LSU), 6-3, 6-1
5. Eden Richardson (LSU) def. Adeline Flach (AU), 3-6, 7-6 (0), 6-3
6. Samantha Buyckx (LSU) def. Anastasia Astakhova (AU), 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 2, 4, 1, 3, 5
Doubles
1. Axon/Flach (AU) def. #73 Corley/Bridges (LSU), 6-2
2. Ansari/Ovunc (AU) vs. Geissler/Carrington (LSU), 5-3 unfinished
3. Chen/Astakhova (AU) def. Richardson/Loughlan (LSU), 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3
