NORMAN, Okla. – No. 13 Auburn women’s tennis recorded its second straight road victory to open conference play on Thursday, defeating No. 11 Oklahoma 4-2. The Tigers won the doubles point, followed by three straight-set singles wins in the victory.
“Good win for the girls,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “Great doubles point. We found a way to get that done and getting three singles wins was big. Oklahoma is a tough place to play and they have a great team that is really well coached. We got some revenge on last year and I’m excited about the win. Still some room to grow, and that’s what we’ll be hungry for at practice tomorrow ahead of Saturday’s matches against Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky.
“Some really big performances from Angie (Okutoyi) and Merna (Refaat) to get off the court quickly as well as Ekaterina (Khairutdinova) finding a way to win. Ashton (Bowers) splitting that second set really helped us. We’re excited, but still a lot of work to do to get better.”
Auburn opened the match with a 6-4 doubles win from Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova, their 13th straight to open the spring. At the No. 2 position, Auburn’s Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat went back and forth with Oklahoma’s Evialina Laskevich and Edda Mamedova. The match stayed tight throughout, but Okutoyi and Refaat prevailed 7-5 to claim the crucial doubles point.
Auburn and Oklahoma then each claimed three opening sets to begin singles. Refaat started hot in her match against Chloe Noel, winning each of the first three games in the first set before claiming it 6-2. The win improved Refaat’s dual-match singles record to 7-1 this season and gave Auburn a 2-0 lead.
At the No. 3 singles position, Okutoyi jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set over Edda Mamedova, then claimed the set 6-2. Okutoyi and Mamedova were tied at three in the second set before the Auburn senior won the next three games to take the match 6-2, 6-3 and push the Tigers’ lead to 3-0.
Oklahoma then answered by converting two of its first-set wins into straight-set victories at the No. 1 and No. 6 positions to cut Auburn’s lead to 3-2. After dropping the first set, Bowers won the second to force a third at the No. 5 position.
Khairutdinova started strong in her first set against No. 18 Julia Garcia Ruiz, building a 4-2 lead and converting it into a 6-4 opening-set win. The second set remained close, tying at 5-5 late before the Auburn senior prevailed to win the match 6-4, 7-5 and clinch the team victory for the Tigers.
With the victory, Auburn improves to 17-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The all-time series with Oklahoma is now even at 2-2. The win marks the Tigers’ fourth over a top-15 opponent this season.
Up next, Auburn will play its SEC home opener Saturday against Arkansas at 11 a.m. CT, followed by a match against Eastern Kentucky at 3 p.m. CT. Admission to both matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center will be free, and fans will receive free Moe’s BBQ while supplies last.
Live video and live scoring of both matches will be available at AuburnTigers.com. More fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
#13 Auburn 4, #11 Oklahoma 2
Singles Results:
- Evialina Laskevich (OU) def. #37 DJ Bennett (AUB) 7-5, 6-4
- E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. #18 Julia Garcia Ruiz (OU) 6-4, 7-5
- #95 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Edda Mamedova (OU) 6-2, 6-3
- Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Chloe Noel (OU) 6-2, 6-2
- Salakthip Ounmuang (OU) vs. #26 Ashton Bowers (AUB) 6-3, 3-6, 3-0, unfinished
- Gloriana Nahum (OU) def. Stefani Webb (AUB) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles Results:
- #1 Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum (OU) vs. DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito (AUB) 6-5, unfinished
- #86 Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat (AUB) def. #44 Evialina Laskevich and Edda Mamedova (OU) 7-5
- Ashton Bowers and E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Julia Garcia Ruiz and Salakthip Ounmuang (OU) 6-4
Time of match: 3:02 Order of finish: Doubles: 3,2; Singles: 4,3,6,1,2