ORLANDO, Fla. – Auburn junior Ava Esposito reached the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship this week at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. By advancing to the Sweet 16, Esposito earned ITA Singles All-American status.
“This is why I got into coaching, to help girls achieve their dreams and create value for themselves and to become the best versions of themselves,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “This was a dream of Ava’s to be an All-American and play in the NCAA Tournament. It’s definitely a highlight of my career. It’s been a really good 10 or 12 days for her and she’s a great girl.
“She works really hard and she’s come a long way from when I first came here. I think she was kind of at rock bottom with her tennis, and she’s just really improved over the last 18 months or so. She should be really proud of her effort, and she took one of the best players to play college tennis to the limit today. A lot to build on, a lot to be proud of, and some good momentum going into the spring.”
Esposito opened the tournament with a dramatic three-set win over USC’s Krisha Mahendran. After battling back from a 5-2 deficit in the opening set to cut it to 5-4, she ultimately dropped the set 6-4. The Auburn junior responded by controlling the second set 6-2 to force a decisive third. The final set went back and forth before Esposito won the tiebreak 7-3 to take the two-hour, 22-minute match.
On Wednesday, Esposito defeated Pepperdine’s Anastasiia Grechkina 6-4, 6-3 in the round of 32. She earned a late break to close out the opening set 6-4, then carried the momentum into the second, jumping ahead 3-1 before sealing the straight-set win.
In the round of 16, Esposito fell to North Carolina’s Reese Brantmeier. After dropping the first set 6-2, she rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the second to win it 6-3 and force a third. Brantmeier took control early in the final set and went on to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
Auburn sophomore Ashton Bowers also competed in the championship, falling in a tight round-of-64 match to Washington’s Reece Carter, 6-4, 6-4.
The NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships mark the end of the fall schedule for the Tigers. Dual match play begins after the start of the new year.
Auburn Results:
Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Krisha Mahendran (USC) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(3)
Reece Carter (WASH) def. Ashton Bowers (AUB) 6-4, 6-4
Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) 6-4, 6-3
Reese Brantmeier (UNC) def. Ava Esposito (AUB) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1