COLUMBIA, S.C.- No. 6 Auburn dropped its road match against South Carolina on Sunday afternoon by a 4-2 score. Auburn claimed the doubles point before faltering in singles.
“Really tough loss after playing a great doubles point,” said Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo. “They were able to make turns on courts where we won first sets and unfortunately, we were not able to. We need to learn from this tough weekend and be ready to get better.”
In doubles, Maria Garcia and Ava Esposito had no issues taking care of Helena Buchwald and Jana Stojanova, shutting them out 6-0 at the No. 3 doubles position. The win marked the Auburn duo’s ninth doubles win of the season.
Ava Hrastar and DJ Bennett got revenge on Sarah Hamner and Kaitlyn Carnicella on the top doubles court after dropping a match against them during ITA All-Americans in September. Bennett and Hrastar broke to love early in the match to take a 2-1 lead and went on to win 6-2. The win clinched the doubles point for the Tigers.
In singles, South Carolina struck first with two convincing singles victories at the No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions. Anna Bella Bianca defeated Ava Esposito 6-3, 6-2 and Misa Malkin defeated Merna Refaat 6-4, 6-0 to give the Gamecocks a 2-1 lead.
Bennett answered back for Auburn with a singles win on the top singles court. The Auburn junior dominated in her opening set over No. 29 Sarah Hamner 6-1. In the second set, Bennett jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Hamner tied the set at three. The two sides then held serve, leading to a tiebreaker that Bennett won 7-3. The win improved Bennett’s singles record to 18-6 overall and 6-2 in dual matches this season.
South Carolina then picked up another straight set singles win on court six to put them within one singles win of a team victory. At the time, the other two remaining singles matches were being decided in a third set.
With the opening set tied at four at the No. 2 singles position, Hrastar was able to win two straight games over No. 68 Carnicella to win the first set before Carnicella came back to win the second set and force a third. The South Carolina redshirt sophomore then caught fire in the third set, winning the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the team win for the Gamecocks.
At the time of the match being clinched, Angella Okutoyi was leading Olympe Lancelot in a third set 6-4, 2-6, 5-4.
Up next, the Tigers will host No. 5 Texas A&M at the Yarbrough Tennis Center on Friday at 5 p.m. CT. Fans in attendance at Friday’s match, where admission will be free, will receive Auburn-themed cowboy hats while supplies last. Live video and live scoring of the match will be available online at AuburnTigers.com and the Auburn Tigers app.
#53 South Carolina 4, #6 Auburn 2
Singles Results:
- #2 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #29 Sarah Hamner (SC) 6-1, 7-6 (7-2)
- #68 Kaitlyn Carnicella (SC) def. Ava Hrastar (AUB) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
- Olympe Lancelot (SC) vs. #57 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) 4-6, 6-2, 4-5, unfinished
- Misa Malkin (SC) def. #17 Merna Refaat (AUB) 6-4, 6-0
- Bella Larsson (SC) def. Ava Esposito (AUB) 6-3, 6-2
- Helena Buchwald (SC) def. Alice Battesti (AUB) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles Results:
- #20 DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. #57 Sarah Hamner/Kaitlyn Carnicella (SC) 6-2
- Olympe Lancelot/Bella Larsson (SC) vs. #69 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) 3-5, unfinished
- Maria Garcia/Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Helena Buchwald/Jana Stojanova (SC) 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1; Singles: 5,4,1,6,2