ATHENS, Ga. – No. 16 Women's tennis downed Kentucky 4-0 in the second round of the SEC Championship on Thursday night at the Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia. Auburn earned the doubles point followed by straight set wins on each of the top three singles courts to earn the victory in its first match of the championship.
"I was really happy with our doubles, which continues to be a great asset for us starting the match up 1-0 and having that confidence carry into the singles," Auburn interim head coach Lester Cook said after the victory. "I know Kentucky is a good team so we came in with the mentality that we are going to fight, but happy that we could get off the courts pretty quickly to rest up for tomorrow's match against Tennessee."
Auburn's top doubles team of Ariana Arseneault and DJ Bennett looked strong early in doubles, jumping out to a 3-0 lead over 56th-ranked Makayla Mills and Elizabeth Stevens. The duo went on to win the match 6-3 and give the Tigers the advantage. Kentucky responded with a 6-3 win on court two, leaving the doubles point to be decided on court three.
On court three, Selin Ovunc and Carolyn Ansari were reunited for the first time since March 31. The pair took an early 3-1 advantage, then won a return game while leading 5-2 to claim the doubles point for the Tigers.
Carolyn Ansari and Selin Ovunc pick up the doubles point for the Tigers 🐅#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/gChWIZXKxK
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) April 18, 2024
Auburn earned quick opening set victories on each of the top three courts to begin singles. Carolyn Ansari looked dominant in her first set against Zoe Hammond, winning each of the first five games before claiming the set 6-2. DJ Bennett and Ariana Arseneault both won their respective opening sets 6-3.
Angella Okutoyi and Adeline Flach both came back from 5-3 deficits with late breaks to force tiebreakers in each of their respective matches. Okutoyi won her tiebreaker 7-3 while Flach won 7-2 in her tiebreaker.
Leading 4-2, Ansari won the next two consecutive games to defeat Hammond 6-2, 6-2. The win marked Ansari's 14th dual match singles win of the season and pushed Auburn's lead to 2-0.
In the second set on court two, Bennett earned a break to lead 4-2 and went on to defeat Elizabeth Stevens 6-3, 6-4 to move the Tigers to within one of the team victory. The sophomore's 28 singles victories puts her in the top-10 for most in a season in program history.
DJ gets it done again 🎶
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) April 19, 2024
DJ Bennett with a straight set win on court two gives Auburn a 3️⃣-0️⃣ lead #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/M7BRUjRSaU
After Arseneault earned a late break over Ellie Eades to take a 5-3 lead on court three, she completed a 6-3, 6-4 just moments after Bennett won her match to clinch the 4-0 team victory. The win improved Arseneault's singles record in dual matches to 12-7.
With the win, the Tigers have advanced to play No. 17 Tennessee, the 4-seed, on Friday at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinal round. Live video and live scoring of the match will be available online at georgiadogs.com.
#16 Auburn 4, #67 Kentucky 0
Singles Results:
1. #6 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. Zoe Hammond (UK) 6-2, 6-2
2. #58 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Elizabeth Stevens (UK) 6-3, 6-4
3. #83 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) def. Ellie Eades (UK) 6-3, 6-4
4. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) vs. Julia Zhu (UK) 7-6 (7-3), 1-1, unfinished
5. Adeline Flach (AUB) vs. Ellie Myers (UK) 7-6 (7-2), 2-0, unfinished
6. Selin Ovunc (AUB) vs. Makayla Mills (UK) 4-6, 5-2, unfinished
Doubles Results:
1. #9 Ariana Arseneault/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #56 Makayla Mills/Elizabeth Stevens (UK) 6-3
2. Zoe Hammond/Ellie Eades (UK) def. #46 Angella Okutoyi/Adeline Flach (AUB) 6-3
3. #85 Selin Ovunc/Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. Maialen Morante/Julia Zhu (UK) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles: 1,2,3; Singles: 1,2,3