MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Auburn women’s tennis began its fall slate over the weekend with Ava Esposito, Alice Battesti and Natalie Outcalt at the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic at Lagoon Park Center in Montgomery, Alabama, Friday through Sunday.
“Was great to kick off our fall season at Blue-Gray,” said Auburn assistant coach Pete Francis. “It was a great event on our doorstep where our girls were each able to get three solid singles and doubles matches. Our girls had a solid weekend learning some important lessons on the way. They got stronger as the weekend went on and finished on a high note.”
In the hidden dual formatted event that featured players playing as pairs, Esposito and Battesti got off to a great start on Friday. After dropping their doubles match to LSU, Esposito defeated Kinaa Graham 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 and Battesti took down Addison Lanton 6-3, 6-3 to win the matchup over the Tigers.
Iowa State then took the win on Saturday over the Auburn duo, but Esposito and Battesti bounced back with a sweep, a doubles win and two singles wins, over Andrea Nova and Ichino Horikawa of Ole Miss on Sunday. Esposito and Battesti finished the event third place in their respective draw.
Sophomore Natalie Outcalt competed in the event with Indi Patel of LSU. Outcalt and Patel swept Nera Tesankic and Emma Ascanio of UAB in the first round, which featured a 6-3, 6-4 singles win over Tesankic for Outcalt, before dropping their matchup to an Ole Miss pair on Saturday. Outcalt then provided a 6-3, 7-5 singles victory over Julia Camblor of Iowa State in their Sunday match.
Up next, Auburn will have players compete in the ITA All-American Championships September 20-29 at the Cary Tennis Center in Cary, North Carolina.
Friday Results:
Natalie Outcalt (AUB)/Indi Patel (LSU) def. Nera Tesankic/Emma Ascanio (UAB) 8-5
Natalie Outcalt (AUB) def. Nera Tesankic (UAB) 6-3, 6-4
Kinaa Graham/Addison Lanton (LSU) def. Ava Esposito/Alice Battesti (AUB) 8-5
Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Kinaa Graham (LSU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
Alice Battesti (AUB) def. Addison Lanton (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
Saturday Results:
Emily Welker/Riley Crowder (MISS) def. Natalie Outcalt (AUB)/Indi Patel (LSU) 8-2
Emily Welker (MISS) def. Natalie Outcalt (AUB) 6-0, 6-0
Maria de la Paz Alberto /Stanislava Shulzhenko (ISU) def. Ava Esposito/Alice Battesti (AUB) 8-6
Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Maria de la Paz Alberto (ISU) 6-3, 6-4
Stanislava Shulzhenko (ISU) def. Alice Battesti (AUB) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5)
Sunday Results:
Julia Camblor/ Ashlee Narker (ISU) def. Natalie Outcalt (AUB)/Indi Patel (LSU) 8-4
Natalie Outcalt (AUB) def. Julia Camblor (ISU) 6-3, 7-5
Ava Esposito/Alice Battesti (AUB) def. Andrea Nova/Ichino Horikawa (MISS) 8-3
Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Andreea Nova (MISS) 6-0, 6-4
Alice Battesti (AUB) def. Ichino Horikawa (MISS) 6-2, 7-5