No. 2 Auburn downs Alabama in rivalry match

Box Score
No. 2 Auburn downs Alabama in rivalry matchNo. 2 Auburn downs Alabama in rivalry match

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 2 Auburn women’s tennis claimed a rivalry win Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 38 Alabama 6-1 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama. The victory set a new program record for wins in a season with 26.

“It’s great to beat Alabama,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said after the match. “I thought we played awesome in the doubles, which was a really good start. I was glad we got to play some different players and rest some other girls in singles, and I really liked the way that we finished. The girls were struggling on some courts at the start, but they just started competing and played like street fighters down the stretch. That’s what I wanted to see, and they finished well.

“Angie (Okutoyi) beat a girl that hadn’t lost all year, and Eva (Ionescu) had a fantastic weekend for a freshman, barely losing any games down on court six. And Ashton (Bowers) kept doing what Ashton does. I’m very excited to beat Alabama. I understand the significance of the match, and sometimes it’s difficult to play rivalry matches, but I thought we did really well and sprinted through the finish line.”

Auburn’s Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova continued their dominance at the No. 3 doubles position, defeating Maria Andrienko and Amina Salibayeva 6-0 to improve to 21-1 together this spring. On the top court, Auburn’s DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito won five straight games to defeat Addison Bowman and Kristina Paskauskas 6-1 and secure the doubles point for the Tigers.

Alabama gained some momentum in singles, winning the opening set on three courts, while Auburn claimed first sets at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 positions.

At the No. 3 position, Auburn’s Angella Okutoyi used two early breaks against Karla Bartel to build a 4-1 lead before taking the set 6-3. The Auburn senior then won three straight games to open the second set and went on to win 6-3, 6-1 to give Auburn a 2-0 lead. Alabama responded with a straight-set win at the No. 5 position to cut the lead to 2-1.

Auburn freshman Eva Ionescu dominated her opening set against Alabama’s Mary Sidelynk, serving a bagel. She followed with a 6-2 second-set win to give Auburn a 3-1 lead. The victory marked Ionescu’s second singles win of the week and improved her record to 10-3 this season.

At the No. 4 position, Auburn’s Ashton Bowers broke Addison Bowman to take a 4-2 lead in the first set after trailing 3-2. Bowman tied the set at 4, but Bowers won the final two games, including a break to love, to take it 6-4. The Auburn sophomore carried that momentum into the second set, winning 6-1 to clinch the team victory and give Auburn a 4-1 lead.

After the team match was decided, Auburn senior DJ Bennett rallied from a first-set loss to win in a match tiebreak, and Ekaterina Khairutdinova bounced back to defeat Maria Andrienko 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.

With the victory, Auburn improved to 26-2 overall and 10-1 in conference play. The Tigers also remained perfect at home this season, improving to 17-0 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

Auburn will head west for its Texas swing next week, facing No. 3 Texas A&M on Thursday at 5 p.m. CT and No. 7 Texas on Saturday at noon CT.

 

#2 Auburn 6, #38 Alabama 1

Singles Results:

  1. #43 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #90 Klara Millicevic (UA) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4)
  2. #55 E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Maria Andrienko (UA) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
  3. #94 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Karla Bartel (UA) 6-3, 6-1
  4. #38 Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Addison Bowman (UA) 6-4, 6-1
  5. Amina Salibayeva (UA) def. Stefani Webb (AUB) 6-3, 6-2
  6. Eva Ionescu (AUB) def. Mary Sidelynk (UA) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles Results:

  1. #16 DJ Bennett/Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Addison Bowman/Kristina Paskauskas (UA) 6-1
  2. #20 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) vs. Karla Bartel/Klara Millicevic (UA) 5-3, unfinished
  3. Ashton Bowers/E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Maria Andrienko/Amina Salibayeva (UA) 6-0

 

Time of match: 2:29 Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1; Singles: 3,5,6,4,1,2 Official: Donna Jerome