AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn picked up their second SEC win of the season in dramatic fashion on Friday evening with a 4-3 victory over Ole Miss. With the match tied at three, freshman Angella Okutoyi claimed a win on court five that required a tiebreaker in the final set to deliver the Tigers to a team victory.
"What a college match!" Auburn Head Coach Caroline Lilley said after the thrilling finish. "Ole Miss made us better today and fought incredibly hard. Tennis is a game of momentum, and knowing how to manage time between points is a big part of the battle. Our sustained aggressive tennis only improves as the match progresses when we choose to treat ourselves right. We compete, we learn, we grow, and we press on with conviction."
Auburn got off to a quick lead on court one and court three to begin doubles play. Ariana Arseneault and Carolyn Ansari won court one in dominating fashion by a 6-1 score. The win is the doubles team's 10th win of the season and the fifth win in dual matches. Ole Miss took the lead on court two, but the Auburn freshman duo of Kaitlyn Carnicella and DJ Bennett took court three by a 6-4 score to claim the doubles point for the Tigers.
Arseneault, Bennett and Okutoyi all got off to good starts by claiming the first set in each of their matches. Arseneault quickly finished her match with Anaelle Leclercq-Fisher in two sets with a 6-1, 6-1 score to get her back in the singles win column after two tough losses in the previous two matches.
Bennett won her match by the same score on court four to help Auburn jump out to a 3-0 score and put the Tigers just one win away from a team victory.
After Auburn claimed a couple of quick two set victories, the Rebels responded with a couple of two set victories of their own to close the gap. Rachel Krzyzak defeated Adeline Flach 6-1, 6-3 on court six and Ludmila Kareisova snapped Carolyn Ansari's nine match singles winning streak with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win on court two.
Freshman Kaitlyn Carnicella was locked in a very close match with Ole Miss' Lillian Gabrielsen on court three where she lost the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (1) and dropped the second set 7-5. This win brought the match to a tie at 3-3 and left the matchup on court five between Angella Okutoyi and Reka Zadori as the game-deciding match.
The match was the only match that required a third set, as Okutoyi had claimed the first set 6-4 and dropped the second set 7-5 after having an opportunity to win the match during the set. Zadori jumped out to a 4-2 lead during the match deciding set before Okutoyi pulled it back to 4-4. Each player earned another two games to tie the set again at 6-6 and force a tiebreaker to decide the match.
With the momentum after just winning the most recent game to force the tiebreaker, the Auburn freshman took the tiebreaker 7-2 and gave Auburn the 4-3 team victory and its sixth consecutive victory.
The Tigers will continue their home conference slate on Sunday against Mississippi State at noon CT. Admission will be free at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Live streaming video and live scoring will also be available online at AuburnTigers.com.
#7 Auburn 4, #58 Ole Miss 3
Singles results:
1. #46 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) def. Anaelle Leclercq (OM) 6-1, 6-1
2. #93 Ludmila Kareisova (OM) def. #41 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
3. Lillian Gabrielsen (OM) def. Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
4. DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Emma Kette (OM) 6-1, 6-1
5. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Reka Zadori (OM) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2)
6. Rachel Krzyzak (OM) def. Adeline Flach (AUB) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles results:
1. #20 Ariana Arseneault/Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. #59 Anaelle Leclercq/Ludmila Kareisova (OM) 6-1
2. #64 Adeline Flach/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) vs. Lillian Gabrielsen/Kelsey Mize (OM) 3-5, unfinished
3. DJ Bennett/Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) def. Emma Kette/Reka Zadori (OM) 6-4
Time of match: 3:30 Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3; Singles: 1,4,6,2,3,5 Official: Donna Jerome