No. 4 Women’s tennis blanks No. 13 Michigan on the road

No. 4 Women’s tennis blanks No. 13 Michigan on the roadNo. 4 Women’s tennis blanks No. 13 Michigan on the road
Olivia Amason/Auburn Tigers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – No. 4 Auburn women’s tennis earned its first road victory of the season Monday evening, shutting out No. 13 Michigan 5-0 on the indoor courts at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor. The Tigers claimed two of three doubles matches, then won four singles matches in straight sets to secure the victory.

“It’s a really big win,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “We lost one set in doubles and one in singles at one of the toughest places to play. Ronni (Bernstein), Ty (Schaub) and Jaan (Kononov) are one of the best coaching staffs in the nation and one of the classiest teams, with many great players. At the end of the day, we were competitive in every match and I’m really proud of the girls. It’s exactly what we needed before ITA Indoors. If you can win at Michigan, you can win anywhere.”

The Wolverines struck first in doubles, claiming a 6-1 victory at the No. 1 position. Auburn’s Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Ashton Bowers rode an early advantage on court three to a 6-2 win, while the Tiger duo of Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat fended off a late comeback bid from Piper Charney and Emily Sartz-Lunde to win 6-4 at the No. 2 position and clinch the doubles point.

Auburn carried that momentum into singles play, winning the opening set on five of six courts. With the first set tied at 2, senior DJ Bennett won four consecutive games to claim the set against Piper Charney. An early break in the second set helped Bennett build a 4-1 lead before she closed out the match 6-2, 6-3 on a deciding point over the nation’s third-ranked singles player.

At the No. 3 singles position, Michigan’s Reese Miller jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the opening set over Okutoyi before the Auburn senior won four straight games to take the set 7-5. Okutoyi then dominated the second set, winning it 6-2 just moments after Bennett’s victory to give Auburn a 3-0 lead.

On court five, Auburn sophomore Ashton Bowers closed out the first set against Gabriella Lindgren by winning five consecutive games for a 6-1 win. She then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set before Lindgren broke serve twice to take a 5-4 advantage. Bowers responded by winning the final three games to secure the straight-set victory, 6-1, 7-5.

At the No. 6 singles position, Auburn freshman Eva Ionescu came back from a late deficit in the second set to defeat Bayley Sheinin 6-4, 6-4. Bowers’ and Ionescu’s matches ended simultaneously, resulting in a 5-0 final score.

With the win, Auburn improved to 11-0 on the season and extended its lead in the all-time series against Michigan to 4-2. Opponents have earned just one total point against the Tigers so far in 2026.

Auburn will compete next at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Illinois. The draw for the 16-team championship, scheduled for Feb. 6-10, will be released Tuesday.

 

#4 Auburn 5, #13 Michigan 0

Singles Results:

  1. DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #3 Piper Charney (MICH), 6-2, 6-3
  2. #32 Lily Jones (MICH) vs. Ekaterina Khairutdinova (AUB), 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
  3. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. #80 Reese Miller (MICH), 7-5, 6-2
  4. Emily Sartz-Lunde (MICH) vs. Merna Refaat (AUB), 0-6, 6-2, 1-1, unfinished
  5. #27 Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Gabriella Lindgren (MICH), 6-1, 7-5
  6. Eva Ionescu (AUB) def. Bayley Sheinin (MICH), 6-4, 6-4

Doubles Results:

  1. Reese Miller/Lily Jones (MICH) def. Stefani Webb/DJ Bennett (AUB), 6-1
  2. Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) def. #54 Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (MICH), 6-4
    3. Ekaterina Khairutdinova/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Laura Rahnel/Gabriella Lindgren (MICH), 6-2

 

Time of match: 2:06 Order of finish: Doubles: 1,2,3; Singles: 1,3,6,5