DURHAM, N.C. – No. 14 Auburn defeated 15th ranked Duke in the championship match at ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday in Durham, North Carolina. With the victory, the Tigers have earned a bid into the 2024 ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the third year in a row.
Auburn gained momentum during the doubles point, when Selin Ovunc and Ava Esposito Cogan ran away with a 6-1 win on court two over Ellie Coleman and Emma Jackson in a match where the Tiger duo won all three service games. After trailing the match 3-1, DJ Bennett and Adeline Flach came back to win and claim a crucial doubles point for the Tigers.
Singles started off well for Auburn, as Bennett, Flach, Carolyn Ansari and Ariana Arseneault pulled out opening set victories. The Blue Devils evened the score after Selin Ovunc's match against No. 52 Katie Codd was retired.
Ansari became the first Auburn player to claim a singles win, as the eighth ranked singles player in the country took down No. 65 Shavit Kimchi in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. In the second set against Kimchi, the fifth-year senior won 62 percent of the points in service games to help make the score 2-1.
Just moments after Ansari's win, Arseneault put the team within one point of victory with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Emma Jackson. Arseneault came back in the second set after being down 3-1 at one point and claimed eight consecutive points during the set. The senior also won 61 of the 101 points played during the set to claim victory. The Auburn lead was then trimmed to 3-2 after Duke claimed a win on court six.
.@carolynansari and @arseneuakt claim match wins within moments of each other 🤝
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) January 27, 2024
Tigers just one match win away from a team victory against the Blue Devils 💪#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/B2FslbvTkn
Bennett, who is ranked 34th in singles nationally, was cruising in the second set and built a 5-0 advantage over No. 74 Ellie Coleman. Coleman battled back by winning five consecutive games to even the set at five. The sophomore pulled away in the final two games of the set, winning both of them to secure the team victory for Auburn and beginning the celebration with her teammates on court three. In the dramatic second set, Bennett won eight of her 10 service games including four that reached a 40-40 score.
LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN 🎉
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) January 27, 2024
DJ Bennett takes court three and clinches the team victory for the Tigers 🐅#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/5Oj5iOrXY9
Auburn will play in its home opener with a double header featuring Texas Tech and South Alabama on February 4th before making the trip to the ITA Indoor Championships in Seattle, which begins on February 9th.
#14 Auburn 4, #15 Duke 2
Singles Results:
1. #8 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. #65 Shavit Kimchi (DUKE) 6-4, 6-3
2. Ariana Arseneault (AUB) def. Emma Jackson (DUKE) 6-3, 6-3
3. #34 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #74 Ellie Coleman (DUKE) 6-2, 7-5
4. #52 Katie Codd (DUKE) def. #122 Selin Ovunc (AUB) 6-2, retired
5. Iuliia Bryzgalova (DUKE) vs. Adeline Flach (AUB) 1-6, 6-3, 3-1, unfinished
6. #78 Brianna Shvets (DUKE) def. Ava Esposito Cogan (AUB) 6-3, 7-6 (4)
Doubles Results:
1. Shavit Kimchi/Karolina Berankova (DUKE) vs. #53 Ariana Arseneault/Carolyn Ansari (AUB) 5-4, unfinished
2. Ava Esposito Cogan/Selin Ovunc (AUB) def. Ellie Coleman/Emma Jackson (DUKE) 6-1
3. DJ Bennett/Adeline Flach (AUB) def. Brianna Shvets/Iuliia Bryzgalova (DUKE) 6-3
Time of match: 2:14; Doubles: 2,3 Singles: 4,1,2,6,3