CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For the second consecutive season, Auburn women's tennis will be playing in the NCAA Tennis Championships round of 16 after defeating No. 14 Miami by a 4-3 score on Saturday. With the match tied 3-3, Auburn junior Adeline Flach clinched the match victory to send the Tigers to the super regionals.
"What a college tennis match," Auburn Head Coach Caroline Lilley said after the upset win. "To go on the road, in difficult conditions, and to play with the poise we did down the stretch, I am humbled to coach this group of young women. Our support at Auburn starts at the top and trickles down to every single person who touches our program. We stopped knocking this weekend, and instead, decided to take our seat at the table."
Tigers storm the court in Miami 🌪️
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 6, 2023
A look at the moment Adeline Flach sent Auburn to the supers 🎞️#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/mtdiR2vWZX
After Auburn dropped the doubles match on court two 6-1, the top Tigers duo of Ariana Arseneault and Carolyn Ansari defeated Daevenia Achong and Maya Tahan, the 51st ranked doubles team in the country, by a 6-2 score.
In a tightly contested match on court three, Flach and Angella Okutoyi prevailed after forcing a tiebreaker to win 7-6 (5) over Audrey Boch-Collins and Mia Mack for their 11th dual win of the season to claim the doubles point for Auburn.
In singles, Auburn stared by picking up first set wins on courts three, four and six. DJ Bennett, who cliched the match win during the first round against FIU on Friday, was the first to finish with a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 88 Isabella Pfennig. Carolyn Ansari then dropped her match to Daevenia Achong on court two, but the Tigers maintained a 2-1 lead.
Okutoyi then posted a convincing 6-3, 6-0 win over Audrey Boch-Collins for her 15th dual match victory of the year. The Hurricanes began to gain some momentum back with two-set victories on courts five and one to tie the match 3-3.
The match would be decided on court six, the only singles match to be forced into a third set. Flach took the decisive third set to give Auburn the NCAA Second Round victory. This marks the second time that the junior has cliched a match in the NCAA Championships, as she also delivered the match winner against Jackson State in the first round in 2022.
Auburn will now travel to Raleigh, North Carolina to face fourth ranked NC State for the program's fourth ever apperance in a super regional.
#18 Auburn 4, #15 Miami 3
Singles results:
1. #5 Alexa Noel (UM) def. #32 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
2. #105 Daevenia Achong (UM) def. #23 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) 6-2, 6-3
3. DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #88 Isabella Pfennig (UM) 6-2, 6-1
4. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Audrey Boch-Collins (UM) 6-3, 6-0
5. Mia Mack (UM) def. Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) 6-4, 6-2
6. Adeline Flach (AUB) def. Maya Tahan (UM) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
Doubles results:
1. #31 Carolyn Ansari/Ariana Arseneault (AUB) def. #51 Daevenia Achong/Maya Tahan (UM) 6-2
2. #32 Alexa Noel/Isabella Pfennig (UM) def. DJ Bennett/Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) 6-1
3. Adeline Flach/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Audrey Boch-Collins/Mia Mack (UM) 7-6 (7-5)