TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 9 Auburn women's tennis team stayed unbeaten in SEC play as they earned a 5-2 win over No. 19 Alabama Saturday afternoon at the Baumgartner Tennis Center.
The Tigers (12-2, 3-0 SEC) used a huge comeback at the No. 2 doubles spot and gritty performances across the board in singles to pick up their first victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa since 2007.
"What a great college tennis match to be a part of!" Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "The resilience of our group while they hunt for solutions is incredibly special. We speak a lot about what we seek is what we will find. Choosing to be great in the areas we can control means we will earn opportunities. Aggressive, composed and tough today as a unit."
Doubles looked to be leaning Alabama's way as each team had a match in hand with the Tide leading 5-2 in the last match in progress. But Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach fought all the way back, winning five straight games to earn a 7-5 win on court two and clinch the doubles point and a 1-0 lead for Auburn.
Selin Ovunc and Ariana Arseneault, ranked No. 21 nationally in the latest ITA release, downed Alabama's No. 70-ranked Bencheikh and Hiser, 6-1. And Carolyn Ansari and Madeline Meredith dropped their match to Alabama's Ola Pitak and Kasia Pitak, 6-0.
Auburn got on the board in singles with a 6-0, 6-2 win from Yu Chan on court six over Kasia Pitak. The Tide picked up their first point on court five as Alabama's Anne Marie Hiser defeated Axon 6-3, 6-4, then Alabama would tie it up as 75th-ranked Bencheikh downed No. 57 Ovunc, 7-5, 6-4.
From there, though, the rest of the matches would go to the Tigers. Arseneault, ranked 54th, defeated Ola Pitak, 6-4, 6-4, to put Auburn ahead 3-2. The clinching point came from 114th-ranked Ansari, who bounced back from a second-set loss to defeat No. 102 Petra Sedlackova, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
Flach added a fifth point for the Tigers with a come-from-behind, third-set tiebreaker win over Anna Parkhomenko, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
The Tigers will continue a three-match SEC road swing next weekend as they travel to Mississippi State and Ole Miss on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
#9 Auburn 5, #19 Alabama 2
Singles
1. #75 Loudmilla Bencheikh (UA) def. #57 Selin Ovunc (AU), 7-5, 6-4
2. #54 Ariana Arseneault (AU) def. Ola Pitak (UA), 6-4, 6-4
3. #114 Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. #102 Petra Sedlackova (UA), 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
4. Adeline Flach (AU) def. Anna Parkhomenko (UA), 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)
5. Anne Marie Hiser (UA) def. Georgie Axon (AU), 6-3, 6-4
6. Yu Chen (AU) def. Kasia Pitak (UA), 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4
Doubles
1. #21 Ovunc/Arseneault (AU) def. #70 Bencheikh/Hiser (UA), 6-1
2. Axon/Flach (AU) def. Sedlackova/Parkhomenko (UA), 7-5
3. O. Pitak/K. Pitak (UA) def. Ansari/Meredith (AU), 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
