AUBURN, Ala. – It was all Auburn on Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center as the No. 4 Tigers shut out Liberty and Alabama A&M by 7-0 scores. The pair of victories improved Auburn’s record to 6-0 on the young season.
“It was a good performance overall,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “We definitely could have played better in some spots. I liked in the first match how we were able to find a way to shut the door at the end in tight situations, but I feel like we could have made life a bit easier on ourselves in some sets.
“It was nice to see Stefani (Webb) out there representing us for the first time. Now it’s time to get a little rest. We’ll have a good practice tomorrow and get after it against Georgia Tech on Tuesday.”
Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Ashton Bowers set the tone in doubles, earning a quick 6-0 win at the No. 3 position. Khairutdinova and Bowers have now dropped just one game during their five wins together this spring. Moments later, Merna Refaat and Angella Okutoyi defeated Candy Wai and Daniella O’Neill 6-2 to clinch the doubles point for the Tigers.
Khairutdinova carried her momentum into singles, dominating Yoanna Radulova on the top singles court to win 6-0, 6-1 and give Auburn a 2-0 lead. Okutoyi added another point with a straight-set win at the No. 3 position. On court six, Ava Esposito started strong with a 6-1 opening-set win before Celina Joseph forced a second-set tiebreaker. Esposito prevailed 7-4 in the tiebreaker to clinch the team victory for Auburn.
With the team win secured, Bowers, Eva Ionescu and DJ Bennett each posted straight-set victories to complete the 7-0 shutout of the Flames.
The Tigers looked strong again in the second match, earning 6-0 wins on courts one and two to secure the doubles point. Stefani Webb made her Auburn debut in the match, winning her doubles contest alongside DJ Bennett.
Esposito and Alice Battesti each delivered a pair of bagels to open singles play, winning 6-0, 6-0 to give Auburn a 3-0 advantage. Okutoyi followed with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Gabrielle Henderson at the No. 2 position to clinch the team victory.
After the team victory was decided, Refaat and Khairutdinova closed out straight-set wins, while Natalie Outcalt earned a victory in a third-set, 10-point tiebreaker.
Up next, Auburn will host Georgia Tech at the Yarbrough Tennis Center on Tuesday at 3 p.m. CT. Admission is free, and fans in attendance will receive free popcorn while supplies last. Live video and live scoring will be available at AuburnTigers.com. Fan information can be found at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
#4 Auburn 7, Liberty 0
Singles Results:
- E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Yoanna Radulova (LIB) 6-0, 6-1
- DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Maria Turchetto (LIB) 6-1, 7-5
- Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Milana Tsulygina (LIB) 6-2, 6-3
- #27 Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Daniella O'Neill (LIB) 6-3, 6-4
- Eva Ionescu (AUB) def. Candy Wai (LIB) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
- #28 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Celina Joseph (LIB) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles Results:
- Ava Esposito/DJ Bennett (AUB) vs. Yoanna Radulova/Maria Turchetto (LIB) 5-2, unfinished
- Merna Refaat/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Candy Wai/Daniella O'Neill (LIB) 6-2
- E. Khairutdinova/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Milana Tsulygina/Celina Joseph (LIB) 6-0
Time of match: 1:36 Order of finish: Doubles: 3,2; Singles: 1,3,6,4,5,2 Official: Donna Jerome
#4 Auburn 7, Alabama A&M 0
Singles Results:
- E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Alicia Owegi (AAMU) 6-0, 6-1
- Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Gabrielle Henderson (AAMU) 6-0, 6-0
- Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Sofia Sotelo Raya (AAMU) 6-0, 6-2
- #90 Alice Battesti (AUB) def. Tstitsi Mahere (AAMU) 6-0, 6-0
- #28 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Lavynia Vieira de Sa (AAMU) 6-0, 6-0
- Natalie Outcalt (AUB) def. Melissa Mwakha (AAMU) 3-6, 6-0, 1-0 (10-7)
Doubles Results:
- DJ Bennett/Stefani Webb (AUB) def. Tstitsi Mahere/Alicia Owegi (AAMU) 6-0
- Merna Refaat/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Gabrielle Henderson/Sofia Sotelo Raya (AAMU) 6-0
- Eva Ionescu/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Naomi Blanks/Melissa Mwakha (AAMU) 4-1