Auburn junior DJ Bennett will play for the NCAA Singles Championship crown on Sunday after defeating Julia Garcia Ruiz of Oklahoma in a three-set thriller by a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 score at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas, on Saturday.
Bennett is the first player in program history to reach the finals in the event, besting Chifchieva's semifinalist finish in 2008 that was the previous best finish for an Auburn player.
“To me it means everything and more to be able to play in the finals and be the first person in Auburn history to make it to the finals,” Bennett said after the win. “As I’ve said over the last couple of days, I’m just trying to stick to my game and what works. Val [Zeleva] and Jordan [Szabo] kept telling me to attack to the girl’s backhand so that’s what I tried to do the whole match. That ended up allowing me to pull it out in the end.”
All the emotion in that match 🥲#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/ZBnWnPRKTu
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) November 23, 2024
With the opening set tied at one, Bennett dominated the next five consecutive games to win the set 6-1 and only allowed five points from Garcia Ruiz over those five games.
The two traded games in the second set until Garcia Ruiz picked up momentum with the set tied at two. The Oklahoma junior won four of the next five games to claim the set 6-3 and force a third set.
Garcia Ruiz kept the momentum from her second set victory, jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the final set. Bennett then won the next three games to take the set lead. After Garcia Ruiz tied the set at five, Bennett prevailed in the next two games, winning the set in a tight return game.
In the match, the Auburn junior claimed 67 percent of serve points, 6 of the 11 break points as well as three aces.
On Saturday afternoon, Bennett and Ava Hrastar competed in the NCAA Doubles Championship semifinals against Kate Fakih and Olivia Center of UCLA. The UCLA freshman duo jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the opening set before claiming it 6-2.
The Tigers fought back in the second set with a 6-3 win but ultimately fell in a tight tiebreaker that 10-7. The Auburn pair became the second doubles team in program history, joining Pleum Burgmans and Emily Flickinger in 2014.
Bennett will face Georgia's second-ranked Dasha Vidmanova in the finals, who defeated Julia Flegner of Michigan in three sets in the semifinal round. The match is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Sunday.
Television coverage of the national title match will be available on ESPN+. Live scoring of the match will also be available online at ioncourt.com.
Saturday Results:
#32 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #16 Julia Garcia Ruiz (OKLA) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
#18 DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. Kate Fakih/Olivia Center (UCLA) 6-2, 2-6, 10-7