KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 8 Auburn was handed its first conference loss of the season by No. 12 Tennessee by a 6-1 final score on Friday afternoon in Knoxville. The loss also snapped the Tigers' eight match winning streak.
"First, Tennessee was the better team today," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said after the match. "Their response to dropping the doubles point was impressive."
"We were very uptight throughout singles and put too much pressure on ourselves," Lilley continued. "Perspective is an essential ingredient, something we lacked. We played ourselves and our opponent which made our journey very difficult. We will always play our best when we find joy in the ordinary. We know we are capable of more, and that capability will be found in knowing where our identity comes from."
The match got off to the right foot for Auburn in doubles play. The freshman doubles team of Kaitlyn Carnicella and DJ Bennett picked up their 12th doubles win and 9th dual win of the season on court three by taking down Elza Tomase and Catherine Aulia 6-3.
On court one, Ariana Arseneault and Carolyn Ansari dropped a hard-fought match to Rebeka Mertena and Esther Adeshina, the 55th ranked doubles team in the nation, by a 6-4 score. But just moments later, Adeline Flach and Angella Okutoyi won 6-4 on court two over Daria Kuczer and Eleonora Molinaro to claim their sixth doubles victory of the season as well as the doubles point.
Adeline Flach and Angella Okutoyi claim the doubles point for the Tigers 🐅
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) March 17, 2023
Auburn now leads 1️⃣-0️⃣#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/h8i4TQPu2R
Tennessee saw a lot of early success in singles play, claiming the first set in all six singles matches. Okutoyi suffered her first loss in the month of March to Esther Adeshina 6-2, 6-2. Bennett and Flach both dropped their matches in two sets to give Tennessee a 3-1 team lead and one singles victory away from clinching a team win.
Tomase, who is ranked 57th in singles, won the clinching match for the Volunteers over Ariana Arseneault on court one by a 6-4, 6-4 score. Ansari fell to No. 31 Rebeka Mertena and Carnicella lost to No. 37 Daria Kuczer shortly after the match clinching point, leading to a 6-1 Tennessee team victory.
The Tigers' road trip will continue on Sunday as they battle No. 6 Georgia in Athens. The match from the Magill Tennis Complex is scheduled to begin at noon CT. Live streaming video and live scoring of the match will be available online at georgiadogs.com.
#12 Tennessee 6, #8 Auburn 1
Singles results:
1. #57 Elza Tomase (TENN) def. #46 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) 6-4, 6-4
2. #31 Rebeka Mertena (TENN) def. #41 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) 6-4, 6-4
3. #37 Daria Kuczer (TENN) def. Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) 7-5, 6-2
4. Catherine Aulia (TENN) def. DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-3, 6-2
5. Esther Adeshina (TENN) def. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) 6-2, 6-2
6. Lauren Anzalotta (TENN) def. Adeline Flach (AUB) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles results:
1. #55 Rebeka Mertena/Esther Adeshina (TENN) def. #20 Carolyn Ansari/Ariana Arseneault (AUB) 6-4
2. #64 Adeline Flach/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Daria Kuczer/Eleonora Molinaro (TENN) 6-4
3. DJ Bennett/Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) def. Elza Tomase/Catherine Aulia (TENN) 6-3
Time of match: 2:14 Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3,2; Singles: 5,4,6,1,2,3 Official: Isabelle Snyder