SEATTLE – No. 14 Auburn fell to third-ranked Oklahoma State 4-0 in the first round of the 2024 ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle on Friday evening.
After Oklahoma State earned a quick victory on court one to begin doubles, DJ Bennett and Adeline Flach answered with a 6-2 win over Raquel Gonzalez and Ayumi Miyamoto on court two. The win marks the duo's fifth of the season and their second win in a dual match.
The doubles point was decided on court three, where Carolyn Ansari and Selin Ovunc built a 3-1 lead in the match. After Oklahoma State's Safiya Carrington and Kristina Novac later tied the match at four, the teams traded game wins until the match reached a tiebreaker point. The Cowgirl pair ultimately won the tiebreaker 7-4 to claim the doubles point.
The opening sets in singles matches were not friendly to the Tigers, as they lost all six first sets. Oklahoma State then claimed an early straight set victory on court six to extend its lead to 2-0.
The momentum began to shift in Auburn's favor during the second set. After being down 4-1 at one point in the second set, Ansari came back to tie the set 5-5 against No. 17 Anastasiya Komar and eventually win the set 7-5. On court two, Ariana Arseneault also made a second set comeback, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 6-4 set win. Angella Okutoyi also fought back from losing the first three games of her second set to cut No. 54 Lucia Peyre's set lead to 4-3.
Okutoyi eventually dropped the second set and the match to Peyre and moments later No. 122 Safiya Carrington claimed her match over DJ Bennett on court four 6-4, 6-2 to deliver a team victory for Oklahoma State.
With the win, the Cowgirls remain perfect at 6-0 this season while the Tigers fall to 4-2.
On Saturday, Auburn will play a consolation match against the loser of Friday evening's match between No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 10 Texas. That match will be played at 5:30 p.m. CT at the Seattle Tennis Center.
#3 Oklahoma State 4, #14 Auburn 0
Singles Results:
1. #13 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) vs. #17 Anastasiya Komar (OSU) 2-6, 7-5, 0-0, unfinished
2. #61 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) vs. #5 Ange Oby Kajuru (OSU) 3-6, 6-4, 0-1, unfinished
3. #54 Lucia Peyre (OSU) def. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) 6-2, 6-3
4. #122 Safiya Carrington (OSU) def. #43 DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-4, 6-2
5. #104 Selin Ovunc (AUB) vs. #46 Ayumi Miyamoto (OSU) 1-6, 5-6, unfinished
6. Kristina Novak (OSU) def. Adeline Flach (AUB) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles Results:
1. #13 Ange Oby Kajuru/Anastasiya Komar (OSU) def. Ariana Arseneault/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) 6-1
2. DJ Bennett/Adeline Flach (AUB) def. Raquel Gonzalez/Ayumi Miyamoto (OSU) 6-2
3. Safiya Carrington/Kristina Novak (OSU) def. Carolyn Ansari/Selin Ovunc (AUB) 7-6 (7-4)
Time of match: 2:16; Order of finish: Doubles: 1,2,3; Singles: 6,3,4
