No. 11 Women’s tennis shuts out Mississippi State on the road

Box Score
No. 11 Women’s tennis shuts out Mississippi State on the roadNo. 11 Women’s tennis shuts out Mississippi State on the road
Noelle Iglesias/Auburn Tigers

STARKVILLE, Miss. – No. 11 Auburn shut out Mississippi State by a 4-0 score in Starkville on Sunday. Auburn looked dominant throughout the match, claiming the doubles point before earning straight set wins on each of the top three singles courts to complete the shutout.

“Winning 4-0 in the SEC on the road is never easy, so we will take it,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said after the win. “We didn’t get to practice yesterday due to the storms, which was event more impressive. Still looking for the day that we play at a high level on all three doubles and all six singles spots. Time to work hard before facing three home matches in a row.

Ava Esposito and Maria Garcia came out strong at the No. 3 doubles position, winning five straight games in their match against Jayna Clemens and Chiara Di Genova before ultimately winning 6-1. The Tigers’ top doubles team of DJ Bennett and Ava Hrastar were able to take the first four games in their match against Gianna Oboniye and Athina Pitta. Bennett and Hrastar went on to win 6-3 for their 15th overall win together this season.

Auburn maintained that momentum in singles, winning the opening set on four courts. Bennett won four consecutive games in her opening set win over Oboniye on the top singles court. The Auburn junior then coasted through the second set, winning the match 6-1, 6-0 to give the Tigers a 2-0 advantage. The win improved Bennett’s overall singles record to 21-7 and her singles dual match record to 9-3 this season.

At the No. 2 singles position, Angella Okutoyi got off to a strong start with a 6-1 opening set win. Okutoyi then jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the second set before securing a 6-1, 6-3 singles victory, her second of the weekend, to increase Auburn’s lead to 3-0.

Ava Hrastar dominated her first set at the No. 3 singles position, winning 6-0. She and Alessia Tagliente  went back-and-forth in the second set. With the score tied at four, Hrastar won each of the next two games to take the match 6-0, 6-4 to clinch the team victory for the Tigers.

The win improved Auburn’s record to 15-4 overall this season and over the .500 mark in conference play at 4-3. Up next, Auburn will return home to face Vanderbilt on Friday at 5 p.m. CT at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

 

#11 Auburn 4, #54 Mississippi State 0

Singles Results:

  1. #4 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Gianna Oboniye (MSU) 6-1, 6-0
  2. #71 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Carolina Troiano (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
  3. #99 Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. Alessia Tagliente (MSU) 6-0, 6-4
  4. Athina Pitta (MSU) vs. #28 Merna Refaat (AUB) 3-6, 2-3, unfinished
  5. Jayna Clemens (MSU) vs. Ava Esposito (AUB) 6-4, 3-2, unfinished
  6. Chiara Di Genova (MSU) vs. Maria Garcia (AUB) 6-3, 5-1, unfinished

Doubles Results:

  1. #18 DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. Gianna Oboniye/Athina Pitta (MSU) 6-3
  2. Emma Cohen/Alessia Tagliente (MSU) vs. Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) 3-5, unfinished
  3. Maria Garcia/Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Jayna Clemens/Chiara Di Genova (MSU) 6-1

 

Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1; Singles: 1,2,3