CARY, N.C. - Auburn sophomore DJ Bennett has remained undefeated in both singles and doubles through the first three days at the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, North Carolina.
"Resilience is rewarded at tournaments like this," said Auburn associate head coach Megan Falcon. "Learning to compete requires balancing tenacity and perspective. We are excited to stay focused on capitalizing opportunities earned."
Bennett started the event with a pre-qualifying singles win on Saturday before picking up two more victories over Esther Locato and Valeria Ray to earn a spot in the singles qualifying round that began on Monday. The Belleview, Florida native began the singles qualifying round with a dominating 6-1, 6-0 victory over 30th ranked Abbey Forbes of North Carolina. The win marks the highest ranked win of Bennett's collegiate career.
After defeating Forbes, Bennett joined Selin Ovunc in the doubles qualifying round. The Auburn duo defeated Sara Dahlstrom and Bente Spee 8-7 (1) then took down Oklahoma's Julia Garcia Ruiz and Zdena Safarova by an 8-5 score.
The qualifying singles and qualifying doubles rounds will conclude on Tuesday at Cary Tennis Park and the main draw for both singles and doubles will begin on Wednesday.
Ariana Arseneault and Carolyn Ansari have each earned spots in the singles main draw and the Auburn duo have also earned the opportunity to play in the doubles main draw as a doubles team. Adeline Flach and Ali DeSpain also picked up a spot in the doubles main draw by winning the ITA National Summer Championships in August.
Live streaming video and results from the event will be available at wearecollegetennis.com.
Saturday Results:
#99 Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Selin Ovunc (AUB) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
#104 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Indianna Spink (ARK) 7-6 (6), 6-4
Sunday Results:
#104 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Esther Lovato (LU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
#104 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Valeria Ray (VAN) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Sofia Johnson (ODU) def. Selin Ovunc (AUB) 6-3, 6-4
Monday Results:
Anna Campana (PEP) def. Adeline Flach (AUB) 6-3, 7-5
#104 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #30 Abbey Forbes (UNC) 6-1, 6-0
Selin Ovunc/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Bente Spee/Sara Dahlstrom (UF) 8-7 (1)
Selin Ovunc/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Julia Garcia Ruiz/Zdena Safarova (OU) 8-5
Bennett undefeated through three days at ITA All-Americans
