CARY, N.C. – Auburn women's tennis concluded play at the ITA All-American Championships on Sunday in Cary, North Carolina. After dropping her first match in the main draw, Carolyn Ansari won three consecutive ranked matches to reach the singles main draw consolation finals on Sunday.
"Carolyn's resilience is admirable," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said after Ansari's match on Sunday. "She is fun to coach because she brings a competitive fire that invites you into the match with her. Throughout this week she improved because of her mindset and willingness to be uncomfortable. She leads by example. Although she fell a bit short today, she has absolutely nothing to hang her head about."
Ansari posted victories over No. 110 Sophie Abrams of NC State, No. 16 Irina Cantos Siemers of Ohio State and No. 23 Savannah Broadus of Pepperdine before falling to Oklahoma State's Anastasiya Komar, the eighth ranked singles player in the county, in the finals. Ansari's win over Cantos Siemers marked the sixth time that the senior has earned a singles victory over a top-20 ranked opponent in her career.
Selin Ovunc and DJ Bennett also became the first Auburn doubles team to reach the main draw quarterfinals round of the event since Emily Flickinger and Pleun Bergmans reached the semifinals in 2014.
The Auburn duo won five consecutive matches to reach the quarterfinals after beginning their run in the qualifying round, including a 6-4, 5-7, (10-3) win over the sixth ranked doubles team in the nation, Angelica Blake and Alexis Blokhina of Stanford.
In singles, DJ Bennett won four consecutive matches between prequalifying and qualifying rounds highlighted by a dominating 6-1, 6-0 victory over 30th ranked Abbey Forbes of North Carolina. The win marked the highest ranked win of Bennett's collegiate career.
Saturday, September 30th Prequalifying 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, October 1st Prequalifying 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, October 2nd Qualifying 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
Tuesday, October 3rd Qualifying Results:
Kinaa Graham (TXST) def. #104 DJ Bennett (AUB) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Kaila Barksdale (UTAH) def. Adeline Flach (AUB) 5-7, 7-5, 7-5
Selin Ovunc/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Holy Staff/Valeria Ray (VAN) 8-6
Wednesday, October 4th Main Draw Results:
#40 Ange Oby Kajuru (OKST) def. #22 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) 6-2, 6-1
#3 Alexa Noel (MIA) def. #20 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) 6-1, 6-2
Selin Ovunc/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #23 Yinglak Jittakoat/Matilde Magrini (FRES) 6-4, 6-3
#14 Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. #17 Ariana Arseneault/Carolyn Anasri 6-2, 6-3, (12-10)
#3 Fiona Crawley/Carson Tanguilig (UNC) def. Adeline Flach/Ali DeSpain 2-6, 6-4, (10-4)
Thursday, October 5th Main Draw Results:
#72 Abigail Rencheli (NCST) def. #20 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
#22 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. #110 Sophie Abrams (NCST) 7-5, 7-6 (6)
Raphaelle Lacasse/Isabel Adrover Gallego (NEB) def. Adeline Flach/Ali DeSpain (AUB) 3-6, 7-6 (6), (10-8)
Dasha Vidmanova/Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. #17 Ariana Arseneault/Carolyn Ansari (AUB) 6-3, 6-4
Selin Ovunc/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #6 Angelica Blake/Alexis Blokhina (STAN) 6-4, 5-7, (10-3)
#23 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. #16 Irina Cantos Siemers 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
Friday, October 6th Main Draw Results:
#23 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. #16 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
Dana Guzman/Alina Shcherbinina (OKLA) def. Selin Ovunc/DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-4, 6-3, (10-7)
Saturday, October 7th Main Draw Results:
#22 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. #23 Savannah Broadus (PEP) 7-6 (3), 6-3
Sunday, October 8th Main Draw Results:
#8 Anastasiya Komar (OKST) def. Carolyn Ansari (AUB)
