COLUMBIA, S.C. - Auburn players enjoyed success to begin the spring schedule during a round robin format event at the South Carolina Invite in Columbia over the weekend.
The Tigers claimed 12 singles victories and five doubles victories over the course of the tournament highlighted by Ariana Arseneault's two set victory over fourth ranked Sarah Hamner of South Carolina. Arseneault's 7-6 (5), 6-4 win on Saturday marked the highest ranked singles win of her Auburn career.
"We challenged our team to be our best on day three," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said after the event concluded on Monday. "Day three is championship day, and to reach our potential as a team we have to respond to both success and falling short with resilience and grit. We are proud of the professionalism and commitment to being elite in the monotony. The little things make all the difference."
Auburn began the round robin event with singles matches against host school South Carolina on Saturday. In addition to Arseneault's second ranked victory of the season over Hamner, sophomore Kaitlyn Carnicella also earned a ranked comeback victory over No. 76 Shahar Biran 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
On Saturday afternoon, the Tigers played three doubles matches against Wisconsin, claiming two. Carnicella and DJ Bennett, who won 14 dual match victories paired together last season, began the spring with a 6-2 win over Ariel Johnson and Kaja Jacobson.
Auburn began the second day of the event on fire, claiming five of its six singles matches against Wake Forest on Sunday morning. Ariana Arseneault, Adeline Flach and Kaitlyn Carnicella each earned their second singles win of the event during day two, while Ali DeSpain and Ava Espositio Cogan received their first singles victories of the spring.
Later in the day on Sunday, DeSpain and Cogan picked up their fourth win of the season as a doubles pair and their second of the event by defeating South Carolina's Elise Mills and Shahar Biran 7-6 (5).
The final day featured another ranked singles victory for Arseneault, as she took down Wisconsin's No. 67 Maria Sholokhova 6-3, 6-1. Bennett, Carnicella and Cogan also claimed singles wins as Auburn finished the morning wave winning four of the six singles matches against the Badgers. The Tigers concluded the event by taking two of three doubles matches against Wake Forest.
Up next, Auburn will play its first dual match of the season on the road against No. 1 North Carolina on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT.
Saturday Results:
#6 Ayana Akli (SC) def. #34 DJ Bennett (AUB) 7-5, 6-2
Ariana Arseneault (AUB) def. #4 Sarah Hamner (SC) 7-6(5), 6-4
Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) def. #76 Shahar Biran (SC) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Adeline Flach (AUB) def. Elise Mills (SC) 6-3, 6-4
Misa Malkin (SC) def. Ava Esposito Cogan (AUB) 7-6(5), 6-3
Olympe Lancelot (SC) def. Ali DeSpain (AUB) 6-1, 6-4
Xinyu Cai/Alina Mukhortova (WISC) def. Ariana Arseneault/Adeline Flach (AU) 6-2
Kaitlyn Carnicella/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Ariel Johnson/Kaja Jacobson (WISC) 6-2
Ava Esposito Cogan/Ali DeSpain (AUB) def. Taylor Cataldi/Rosie Garcia Gross (WISC) 6-4
Sunday Results:
Adeline Flach (AUB) def. Nevena Carton (WF) 7-5, 6-3
Ali DeSpain (AUB) def. Whitley Pate (WF) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Ariana Arseneault (AUB) def. Brooke Killingsworth (WF) 7-6 (4), 6-2
Ava Esposito Cogan (AUB) def. Sankavi Gownder (WF) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
#42 Casie Wooten (WF) def. #34 DJ Bennett 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) def. Marcella Cruz (WF) 6-4, 6-1
Ayana Akli/Olympe Lancelot (SC) def. DJ Bennett/Adeline Flach (AUB) 7-5
Misa Malkin/Sarah Hamner (SC) def. Ariana Arseneault/Kaitlyn Carnicella 6-3
Ali DeSpain/Ava Esposito Cogan (AUB) def. Elise Mills/Shahar Biran 7-6 (5)
Monday Results:
Ariana Arseneault (AUB) def. #67 Maria Sholokhova (WISC) 6-3, 6-1
#34 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Taylor Cataldi (WISC) 6-3, 6-2
Kaitlyn Carnicella (AUB) def. Alina Mukhortova (WISC) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
Kaja Jacobson (WISC) def. Adeline Flach (AUB) 6-4, 7-5, 6-1
Ava Esposito Cogan (AUB) def. Ellison Reynoldson (WISC) 7-5, 7-5
Rosie Garcia Gross (WISC) def. Ali DeSpain (AUB) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Adeline Flach/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Brooke Killingsworth/Marcella Cruz (WF) 6-1
Kaitlyn Carnicella/Ariana Arseneault (AUB) def. Maryam Ahmad/Casie Wooten (WF) 6-4
Whitley Pate/Sankavi Gownder (WF) def. Ava Esposito Cogan/Ali DeSpain (AUB) 6-4
Tigers impressive in spring opener at South Carolina Invite
