No. 11 Women’s tennis narrowly defeated by No. 3 Texas A&M 4-3

Box Score
No. 11 Women’s tennis narrowly defeated by No. 3 Texas A&M 4-3No. 11 Women’s tennis narrowly defeated by No. 3 Texas A&M 4-3
Addie Ray/Auburn Tigers

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 11 Auburn suffered its first home loss of the season on Friday night to No. 3 Texas A&M by a 4-3 final score at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama. With the score tied at three, Texas A&M’s Nicole Khirin defeated Ava Hrastar in three sets to clinch the victory for the Aggies.

“I thought we did a great job in the doubles,” said Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo. “We've been emphasizing the doubles and we were ready to go. Texas A&M maybe wasn’t quite as ready, and Auburn is a tough place to play. We preached about trying to get a fast start and we did on some courts, but some courts were the complete opposite. When you're playing as well a coached team and as talented a team as Texas A&M, you know you have to bring it on all six courts. To beat a team like that, you need to be bringing it, fighting, playing tough points and winning big points on all six courts to get the job done.

“I think that's the biggest challenge that we've got right now. I don't think we've played one match that we've lost where everyone's made it super competitive on all six courts. We're playing all of the best teams, and we've got to be to have short-term memory get ready for Sunday. Credit to Texas A&M, they’re a great bunch of players and great coaches. They deserved the win.”

Auburn started the match strong in doubles. A break on a deciding point gave Ava Esposito and Maria Garica an early 3-1 lead at the No. 3 doubles position that led to a 6-3 victory just moments before the doubles point was decided on court two.

Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat jumped out to a 4-2 lead over No. 68 Mia Kupres and Daria Smetannikov before picking up a break to 15 that led to a 6-2 win that clinched the doubles point for the Tigers. The victory marked the 10th overall doubles win for the Auburn duo and the sixth in dual matches.

Texas A&M responded in singles with opening set wins on four courts, including at the top two positions. The Aggies earned a one-sided singles win on court six in straight sets to tie the match at one.

Auburn then took the lead back by converting each of its opening set wins into straight set victories. A couple of early breaks that were won on deciding points helped junior Angella Okutoyi claim her opening set over No. 51 Mia Kupres 6-3. Okutoyi then took that momentum into the second set, where she won four of the first five games before ultimately winning the match 6-3, 6-3. With the win, the Auburn junior remains undefeated in dual matches this season at 12-0.

At the No. 5 singles position, Ava Esposito won the first three games of her first set before claiming it 6-4. In a tight second set, Esposito earned a break in the final game to defeat Smetannikov in straight sets. The win improved the sophomore’s singles record to 19-11 overall this season and 10-4 in dual matches.

With Auburn leading 3-1, Texas A&M fought back with a straight set win over their own on court four. On the top singles court, No. 3 Mary Stoiana won the opening set over No. 4 DJ Bennett before a tight second set ensued. After earning a break to take a 4-3 lead in the second set, Stoiana won a crucial deciding point in the next serve game before ultimately defeating Bennett 6-4, 6-3 to tie the team score at three.

The match was decided on court two, where Ava Hrastar had bounced back from a 6-0 opening set loss to split sets against No. 15 Nicole Khirin. The two traded games to start the third set until Khirin picked up a break on a deciding point to take a 4-2 lead in the match. Khirin went on to win the set and the match 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 for the clinching point.

With the loss, Auburn’s record drops to 12-4 this season and 1-3 in SEC matches. The Tigers will return to the Yarbrough Tennis Center for another top-10 matchup against No. 9 Texas at noon CT. Live video and live scoring of the match will be available online at AuburnTigers.com.

 

#3 Texas A&M 4, #11 Auburn 3

Singles Results:

  1. #3 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. #4 DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-4, 6-3
  2. #15 Nicole Khirin (TAMU) def. #99 Ava Hrastar (AUB) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
  3. #71 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. #51 Mia Kupres (TAMU) 6-3, 6-3
  4. #57 Lucciana Perez (TAMU) def. #28 Merna Refaat (AUB) 6-3, 6-1
  5. Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Daria Smetannikov (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4
  6. Lexington Reed (TAMU) def. Alice Battesti (AUB) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles Results:

  1. #18 DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (AUB) vs. Lucciana Perez/Mary Stoiana (TAMU) 3-4, unfinished
  2. Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) def. #68 Mia Kupres/Daria Smetannikov (TAMU) 6-2
  3. Ava Esposito/Maria Garcia (AUB) def. Nicole Khirin/Lexington Reed (TAMU) 6-3

 

Time of match: 3:13; Order of finish: Doubles: 3,2; Singles: 6,3,5,4,1,2; Official: Donna Jerome