MADISON, Wis. – A match that featured four three-setters came down to the last few points, but 11th-ranked Ohio State pulled out a 4-3 win over No. 14 Auburn Sunday at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Auburn (8-2) won the doubles point and got a pair of singles wins from Carolyn Ansari and Georgie Axon, and saw three other matches head to third sets, but Ohio State (4-3) won the critical points and held on for the win.
"What a great college tennis battle," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "Matches like today will make us better. The fight was commendable from the entire team, which earned us a plethora of opportunities. I like how we played under pressure, played with the guts to stick with aggressive tennis regardless of the score or the outcome.
"We have enough perspective as a unit to realize tennis is something we do, but it certainly doesn't define who we are. We will set our sights on moving forward with conviction and the wherewithal that has come to be a defining characteristic of our program."
Auburn jumped ahead 1-0 with a pair of wins in doubles. Selin Ovunc and Ariana Arseneault got the first win, defeating OSU's Kolie Allen and Isabelle Boulais, 6-1. Ansari and Madeline Meredith clinched the point on court three with a 6-4 win over Luna Dormet and Lucia Marzal. Axon and Adeline Flach were ahead 6-5 on court two when play was halted.
Ansari, ranked 125th, made it 2-0 Tigers with a 6-4, 6-2 win over 77th-ranked Sydni Ratliff at the three-spot. The Buckeyes then got on the board as No. 6 Irina Cantos downed 116th-ranked Arseneault, 7-6 (1), 6-3.
After being blanked in her first set, Axon fought all the way back for an 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 win at the five-spot over Shelly Bereznyak to put the Tigers ahead 3-1. All the remaining matches were up for grabs in third sets at that point.
OSU got within 3-2 as 21st-ranked Boulais outlasted No. 49 Ovunc, 6-7 (6),6-4, 6-3 on the No. 1 court. Flach fought all the way back to force her way into a third-set tiebreaker before coming up just short, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5), to Allen. And the Buckeyes clinched it as Yu Chen fell to 114th-ranked Marzal on court six, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Auburn wraps up the non-conference segment of its season next Sunday, Feb. 20, with a home match against Tulane. The match is scheduled for a noon CT start at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
ITA National Team Indoor Championships
Consolation – Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022
#11 Ohio State 4, #14 Auburn 3
Singles
1. #21 Isabelle Boulais (OSU) def. #49 Selin Ovunc (AU), 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-3
2. #6 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. #116 Ariana Arseneault (AU), 7-6 (1), 6-3
3. #125 Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. #77 Sydni Ratliff (OSU), 6-4, 6-2
4. Kolie Allen (OSU) def. Adeline Flach (AU), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5)
5. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Shelly Bereznyak (OSU), 0-6, 6-4, 7-5
6. #114 Lucia Marzal (OSU) def. Yu Chen (AU), 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
Order of finish: 3, 2, 5, 1, 4, 6
Doubles
1. #43 Arseneault/Ovunc (AU) def. Allen/Boulais (OSU), 6-1
2. Axon/Flach (AU) vs. Cantos/Ratliff (OSU), 6-5 unfinished
3. Ansari/Meredith (AU) def. Dormet/Marzal (OSU), 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3