GAINESVILLE, Fla. – An all-around effort in a tough road environment gave No. 13 Auburn one of its biggest wins of the year, a 6-1 victory over the 15th-ranked Florida Gators Sunday afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex.
The Tigers (18-4, 9-2 SEC) got back in the win column after a tough loss at South Carolina Friday night, earning the doubles point and putting together several complete performances in singles to pick up their first-ever win over the Gators in Gainesville.
"I have said it all year long, this team has a resilience that cannot be taught, coached or learned," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "Their commitment to each other, to doing the right stuff, and to embracing the hard things sets a high standard. Every time they compete they set their minds on solving the puzzle, and that made a huge difference today."
Momentum swung Auburn's way after a hard-fought doubles point went to the Tigers. Madeline Meredith and Carolyn Ansari picked up the first win on court 3, 6-3, while Carolyn Ansari and Selin Ovunc fell short at the top spot, 6-3. It came down to a tiebreaker on court two, where the Tiger tandem of Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach stormed to a 7-2 win to claim a 1-0 lead in the match.
Florida briefly tied the match as Flach fell to Alicia Dudeney at the No. 4 singles spot, 6-0, 6-1. But from there, it would be all Auburn. Just moments later, No. 87 Ansari put the Tigers back in front with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Carly Briggs on court three to make it 2-1. It would be 3-1 shortly thereafter as Yu Chen improved to 10-1 in SEC play with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Sydney Berlin at the No. 6 position.
Ovunc, ranked 69th, finished off one of the best SEC weekend of her career, clinching the win with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over 15th-ranked McCartney Kessler at the top spot. It was her second top-15 win of the weekend as she also defeated South Carolina's No. 2-ranked Sarah Hamner on Friday.
With the match clinched, Auburn still had two more matches in progress. Axon put a fifth point on the board with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Sara Dahlstrom. Then Arseneault, ranked 70th, put a bow on the afternoon with a 6-7 (2), 6-4, 1-0 (5) win over 64th-ranked Marlee Zein at the second singles spot.
At 9-2 in SEC play, Auburn has matched its program record for SEC wins with two matches still remaining.
Auburn will close out the regular season with a pair of huge home matches next weekend. The Tigers will host No. 29 Tennessee at 3 p.m. CT Friday, then take on No. 11 Georgia at noon CT Easter Sunday. Admission is free to all home Auburn tennis matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
#13 Auburn 6, #15 Florida 1
Singles
1. #69 Selin Ovunc (AU) def. #15 McCartney Kessler (UF), 6-4, 7-5
2. #70 Ariana Arseneault (AU) def. #64 Marlee Zein (UF), 6-7 (2), 6-4, 1-0 (5)
3. #87 Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. Carly Briggs (UF), 6-3, 6-2
4. Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. Adeline Flach (AU), 6-0, 6-1
5. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Sara Dahlstrom (UF), 7-5, 6-1
6. Yu Chen (AU) def. Sydney Berlin (UF), 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 4, 3, 6, 1, 5, 2
Doubles
1. Dudeney/Kessler (UF) def. #12 Ovunc/Ansari (AU), 6-3
2. Axon/Flach (AU) def. Spee/Zein (UF), 7-6 (3)
3. Ansari/Meredith (AU) def. Berlin/Briggs (UF), 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
