No. 4 Women’s tennis falls to top-ranked Georgia in ITA Indoor Championship semifinals

Box Score
No. 4 Women’s tennis falls to top-ranked Georgia in ITA Indoor Championship semifinalsNo. 4 Women’s tennis falls to top-ranked Georgia in ITA Indoor Championship semifinals

EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 4 Auburn women’s tennis was narrowly defeated by top-ranked Georgia on Monday in the semifinal round of the 2026 ITA National Team Indoor Championship at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Illinois. The loss ends the Tigers’ deepest run at the championship in program history. Auburn claimed the doubles point and won five opening sets in singles, but Georgia rallied to earn a 4-3 victory.

“These are the positions we want to be in,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “Winning the doubles and winning five first sets is about as good a position as you can be in against the defending national champions, and that shows the quality of our team, even playing without Merna (Refaat).

“But we have to find ways to become mentally and physically tougher. If you give a team like Georgia an inch, they take a mile, and that’s what they did. They were much more composed down the stretch and were able to win three three-set matches. All the credit to Georgia. They’re the kind of program that we want to become. It’s been a great week and it shows what this team is capable of. The sky is the limit, and I’m hopeful this setback helps us grow and become better tennis players and a better team.”

Angella Okutoyi and Ava Esposito set the tone in doubles, defeating Anastasiia Lopata and Patricja Paukstyte 6-1 at the No. 2 position. Georgia responded with a 6-2 win on the top doubles court, setting up a winner-take-all match at No. 3 doubles.

At the decisive position, Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Ashton Bowers earned a break on a deciding point to take a 4-3 lead. With the score 5-3, both teams traded breaks on deciding points before the Auburn pair held to 15 in the final game to secure the doubles point.

Auburn carried the momentum into singles, winning the opening set on five courts.

At No. 5 singles, Esposito won three of the first four games against No. 42 Sofia Rojas before taking the opening set 6-4, highlighted by three aces in the final game. The two traded games in the second set before Esposito earned a late break for a 5-4 lead and held serve to complete a 6-4, 6-4 win and give Auburn a 2-0 advantage.

Georgia answered with a straight-set win at No. 3 singles to trim the margin to 2-1. The Bulldogs continued to build momentum by forcing third sets on three singles courts.

At No. 4 singles, Bowers built a 5-3 first set lead over No. 33 Anastasiia Gureva before dropping serve. The Auburn sophomore responded with a break in the final game to win the set 6-4. With the second set tied at two, Bowers held on a critical deciding point and went on to earn a 6-4, 6-3 victory to push Auburn’s lead to 3-1. The win improved Bowers’ dual-match singles record to 8-0 and her overall mark to 18-3.

Georgia closed the gap at No. 6 singles as Emma Dong rallied past Eva Ionescu after dropping the first set. On the top singles court, Auburn senior DJ Bennett took the opening set 6-1 over Anastasiia Lopata before Lopata responded with a 6-2 second set to force a third. The two held serve late in the final set until Lopata earned a break on a deciding point to take a 5-4 advantage and closed out the match 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

At No. 2 singles, Khairutdinova won four straight games to take the first set 6-3 over fourth-ranked Aysegul Mert. After Khairutdinova built a 5-3 lead in the second set, Mert forced a tiebreaker and won it 7-5. Trailing 5-3 in the third set, Khairutdinova fought off two match points but ultimately fell 6-4, sealing the match for Georgia.

The loss marks Auburn’s first of the season, dropping the Tigers to 13-1, while Georgia improved to 4-1.

Auburn will return home Sunday to face Grand Canyon and Middle Tennessee State in a doubleheader at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Tigers will take on Grand Canyon at 10 a.m. and Middle Tennessee State at 2 p.m. CT. Admission is free, with free cotton candy available while supplies last. Kids are also invited to a free tennis clinic with the players following the Middle Tennessee State match.

 

 

#1 Georgia 4, #4 Auburn 3

Singles Results:

  1. #74 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. #58 DJ Bennett (AUB) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
  2. #4 Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. E. Khairutdinova (AUB) 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
  3. #23 Deniz Dilek (UGA) def. #84 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) 7-5, 6-1
  4. #30 Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. #33 Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
  5. #31 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. #42 Sofia Rojas (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
  6. Emma Dong (UGA) def. Eva Ionescu (AUB) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Doubles Results:

  1. Aysegul Mert/Deniz Dilek (UGA) def. DJ Bennett/Stefani Webb (AUB) 6-2
  2. Angella Okutoyi/Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Anastasiia Lopata/Patricja Paukstyte (UGA) 6-1
  3. E. Khairutdinova/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Emma Dong/Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) 7-5

 

Time of match: 3:17 Order of finish: Doubles: 2,1,3; Singles: 5,3,4,6,1,2