AUBURN, Ala. – No. 12 Women’s tennis finished Martin Luther King Jr. weekend by sweeping a Monday doubleheader with Western Carolina at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama. The Tigers downed the Catamounts by a 4-0 score in the morning match and by a 7-0 score in the afternoon match.
“We looked really good in the doubles, and I thought we were very clean in the singles,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said after the second win of the day. “I'm glad a couple of the girls got pushed and they really fought through some adversity, met challenges head on and played their best tennis when it mattered.
“The reason why we scheduled all these matches this weekend is to get in a bunch of competition, and now it's time to rest for about 24 hours before preparing for this Friday. We've got a ways to go to reach our goals but I think we're in a really good spot this early in the season. We're healthy and the girls have played a lot of matches. The whips are about to start cracking, and I think the Tigers are ready to go.”
Auburn started the day with a familiar doubles lineup that was also seen on Saturday and Sunday. Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat jumped out to a 5-0 lead on Chloe Schwarz and Andrea Redondo on court two before ultimately winning 6-1. DJ Bennett and Ava Hrastar won by the same score on court one to earn a quick doubles point.
In singles, Hrastar impressed in her first match playing at the top of the Tigers’ singles lineup. The Auburn graduate student won each of her first four games of the opening set before claiming it 6-1 and went on to earn a bagel in the second set to give the team a 2-0 lead.
On court five, freshman Emma Tothová led Andrea Redondo 2-1 in the first set before winning each of the next four games to win the set 6-1. She went on to win the next set by the same score to secure her sixth singles victory of the season. Sophomore Ava Esposito also won in straight sets, defeating Madison Schwarz 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the match victory for the Tigers.
Both teams’ doubles lineups had some changes for the second match of the day. After dropping the first game to Redondo and Isabella Sambola, Bennett and Refaat won the next two consecutive games before winning 6-2 for their first doubles victory as a pair. On court three, Esposito and freshman Maria Garcia jumped out to a 4-2 lead before prevailing 6-3 and clinching the doubles point.
In singles, Refaat won her fifth consecutive singles match to start the spring in straight sets over Redondo 6-2, 6-1. Moments later, Esposito dominated in her match against Angela Perez, winning 6-0, 6-2 to put the Tigers one match away from a team victory. That match victory came on court two, where DJ Bennett, the second-ranked singles player in the nation, picked up her 15th overall singles win of the season to clinch the team’s fifth straight victory to start the season.
After the team victory was decided, freshman Julie Bedard and Garcia each closed out straight-set victories to make the team’s lead 5-0. Ava Hrastar and Jade Groen traded sets on the top singles court to force a 10-point tiebreaker. Hrastar then prevailed in the tight tiebreaker 10-8 to claim the match and complete the team shutout.
Maria Garcia and Julie Bedard each earn singles wins to give Auburn a 6️⃣-0️⃣ lead #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/ykf6bbX6K5
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) January 20, 2025
Auburn will hit the road for the first time this spring, traveling to Los Angeles for ITA Kickoff Weekend hosted by USC. The Tigers will play San Diego in the first match at 8 a.m. CT on Friday before battling either No. 17 USC or Penn the following day. If Auburn claims two matches in Los Angeles, it will earn a trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the fourth consecutive season.
#12 Auburn 4, Western Carolina 0
Singles Results:
- #69 Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. Isabella Sambola (WCU) 6-1, 6-0
- #110 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) vs. Jade Groen (WCU) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
- #22 Merna Refaat (AUB) vs. Chloe Schwarz (WCU) 7-5, 2-1, unfinished
- Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Madison Schwarz (WCU) 6-3, 6-1
- Emma Tothova (AUB) def. Andrea Redondo (WCU) 6-1, 6-1
- Natalie Outcalt (AUB) vs. Zoe Lui (WCU) 6-4, 2-2, unfinished
Doubles Results:
- #16 DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. Jade Groen/Madison Schwarz (WCU) 6-1
- #97 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Chloe Schwarz/Andrea Redondo (WCU) 6-1
- Ava Esposito/Maria Garcia (AUB) def. Isabella Sambola/Angela Perez (WCU) 6-2
Time of match: 1:46; Order of finish: Doubles: 2,3,1; Singles: 1,5,4; Official: Donna Jerome
#12 Auburn 7, Western Carolina 0
Singles Results:
- #69 Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. Jade Groen (WCU) 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (8)
- #2 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Isabella Sambola (WCU) 6-2, 6-1
- #22 Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Andrea Redondo (WCU) 6-2, 6-1
- Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Angela Perez (WCU) 6-0, 6-2
- Maria Garcia (AUB) def. Zoe Lui (WCU) 6-2, 6-2
- Julie Bedard (AUB) def. Dasha Osadova (WCU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Results:
- Ava Hrastar/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) vs. Chloe Schwarz/Jade Groen (WCU) 3-5, unfinished
- DJ Bennett/Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Andrea Redondo/Isabella Sambola (WCU) 6-2
- Ava Esposito/Maria Garcia (AUB) def. Angela Perez/Dasha Osadova (WCU) 6-3
Time of match: 2:18; Order of finish: 2,3; Singles: 3,4,2,6,5,1; Official: Donna Jerome