LUBBOCK, Texas – In the first dual road match of the season, Auburn had a flare for the dramatics during its 4-3 victory in Lubbock, Texas as the match was decided by a third set tiebreaker on court two.
"What a college tennis match!" Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said after the victory. "Texas Tech competed incredibly hard. We say this all the time, but what you seek is what you find. As a staff, we ask our young women to embrace the details when it is most difficult to do so. Regardless of the outcome, when you enjoy the process, you are moving towards where you want to go. Development is not climbing a staircase- it is not always a steady climb, but who we are becoming in the process will always be the primary focus."
Auburn freshman duo Kaitlyn Carnicella and DJ Bennett got off to a quick 3-0 start in doubles play, and eventually won their match 6-0 on court three. After Ariana Arseneault and Carolyn Ansari dropped their match 6-2 on court one, the doubles point came down to Adeline Flach and Angella Okutoyi on court two. Flach and Okutoyi were down in the match early, but came back to win 7-5 and claim the doubles point for Auburn.
Ansari, Carnicella and Arseneault each took their first set in singles play. Carnicella was the first Tiger to finish her match, as she took down Cristina Tiglea in just two sets by a 6-4, 6-3 score and extended her singles winning streak to five. Arseneault was not too far behind her teammate, as she took down Olivia Peet 7-6 (1), 6-3 on court one.
After Arseneault's match gave the Tigers a 3-0 advantage, Texas Tech took the matches on court six, court three and court five to tie the match at 3-3 and leave the match up to Ansari on court two.
Ansari dropped her second set 6-0 but came roaring back to force a tiebreaker in the third set. The Greensboro, North Carolina native took the tiebreaker 8-6 over Avelina Sayfetdinova to give the Tigers the 4-3 victory.
Auburn's first road win moves their record to 5-1 on the season, while Texas Tech falls to 4-2.
Up next, the Tigers will travel to Seattle, Washington to take part in the ITA Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Washington. The event will take place over four days from Friday, February 10th through Monday, February 13th.
#13 Auburn 4, Texas Tech 3
Singles results:
1. #43 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) def. Olivia Peet (TTU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
2. #71 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (8-6)
3. Metka Komac (TTU) def. #78 DJ Bennett (AUB) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
4. Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) def. Cristina Tiglea (TTU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Kate Dmitrichenko (TTU) def. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) 7-5, 7-5
6. Arina Oreshchenkova (TTU) def. Adeline Flach (AUB) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles results:
1. Metka Komac/Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) def. #10 Carolyn Ansari/Ariana Arseneault (AUB) 6-2
2. Adeline Flach/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Olivia Peet/Cristina Tiglea (TTU) 7-5
3. DJ Bennett/Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) def. Kate Dmitrichenko/Camryn Stepp (TTU) 6-2
Time of match: 3:00 Singles: 4,6,1,3,5,2 Singles: 3,1,2