No. 13 Auburn takes down San Diego in opening match of ITA Kickoff

Box Score
No. 13 Auburn takes down San Diego in opening match of ITA KickoffNo. 13 Auburn takes down San Diego in opening match of ITA Kickoff
David Gray/Auburn Tigers

LOS ANGELES- No. 13 Women’s tennis started ITA Kickoff Weekend on a high note on Friday, shutting out San Diego by a 4-0 score at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium on the campus of USC in Los Angeles. With the win, the Tigers will face No. 11 USC for a chance to make the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the fourth consecutive season.

“Good win for the Tigers,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said after the team’s first win away from home this season. “San Diego is a great program and we will be better off for playing the matches today. We played great on the big points. Now it’s time to prepare for tomorrow and be a couple inches better.”

Auburn set the tone early in the match with a strong doubles point. Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat dominated Hannah Read and Anni Puls with a 6-0 shutout. Moments later, Ava Esposito and Maria Garcia jumped out to a 4-2 lead on court three before winning 6-2 to clinch the doubles point. The win marked the fifth dual match doubles win for the pair.

Refaat extended her singles winning streak to five with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over Puls in a quick match that lasted just over one hour. In the second set, Refaat claimed 83 percent of the total points played and at had won 15 consecutive points at one point in the set.

Esposito earned the first ranked singles win of her college career on Friday, defeating No. 105 Hannah Read 7-6 (1), 6-1 on court five to give Auburn a 3-0 lead. The first set between the two remained tight, with the Auburn sophomore coming back from trailing 5-4 to force a tiebreaker before claiming the set. Esposito won each of the first three games of the second set before cruising to a 6-1 set win.

On court three, Okutoyi’s early 4-1 lead led to a 6-2 opening set win. She then came back from a 3-2 deficit in the second set to defeat Kristina Nordikyan 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the match win for the Tigers. The win improved the Auburn junior’s overall singles record to 9-2 this season.

At the time of the match ending, junior DJ Bennett and freshman Alice Battesti, who was making her dual match debut, had each won their opening sets before abandoning the matches.

Auburn will now play in the ITA Kickoff championship match, which is scheduled to be played Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT against No. 11 USC. Live video and live scoring of Saturday’s championship match will be available online at usctrojans.com.

 

#13 Auburn 4, San Diego 0

Singles Results:

  1. #2 DJ Bennett (AUB) vs. Claudia De Las Heras (USD) 7-5, 4-2, unfinished
  2. #69 Ava Hrastar (AUB) vs. #31 Kailey Evans (USD) 4-6, 1-4, unfinished
  3. #110 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Kristina Nordikyan (USD) 6-2, 6-3
  4. #22 Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Anni Puls (USD) 6-1, 6-1
  5. Ava Esposito (AUB) def. #105 Hannah Read (USD) 7-6 (7-1), 6-1
  6. Alice Battesti (AUB) vs. Gabby Gregg (USD) 6-2, 4-5, unfinished

Doubles Results:

  1. #16 Ava Hrastar/DJ Bennett (AUB) vs. #38 Kailey Evans/Claudia De Las Heras (USD) 4-3, unfinished
  2. #97 Merna Refaat/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Hannah Read/Anni Puls (USD) 6-0
  3. Ava Esposito/Maria Garcia (AUB) def. Kristina Nordikyan/Gabby Gregg (USD) 6-3

 

Time of match: 2:10; Order of finish: Doubles: 2,3; Singles: 4,5,3