No. 5 Women’s tennis takes down fourth-ranked LSU in statement road match

Box Score
No. 5 Women’s tennis takes down fourth-ranked LSU in statement road matchNo. 5 Women’s tennis takes down fourth-ranked LSU in statement road match
Bella Mauritz/Auburn Tigers

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 5 Auburn women’s tennis earned a statement upset victory over fourth-ranked LSU on Sunday afternoon at the LSU Tennis Complex in Baton Rouge. Auburn came back to win the doubles point, then added two straight-set wins in singles before senior Angella Okutoyi came through in three sets at the No. 3 position to deliver the team victory.

“How about those Auburn Tigers?” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said after the win. “Huge win for us on the road after we’ve played four out of the last five on the road in conference play. It was great to win the doubles point after clawing back at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles and a great performance from Ava (Esposito) and DJ (Bennett).

“It was a tough go of it in the singles to start, losing four first sets, but DJ and Kataya (Khairutdinova) battled back to put a lot of pressure on them and Angie (Okutoyi) was ice cold down the stretch. We’ll travel back, get some rest and get ready to go at home next weekend. A very exciting win for us, one that is going to help us the rest of the way. We just have to keep taking care of what we can control and keep trying to get better.”

The Auburn duo of DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito set the tone early in doubles with a 6-1 win on the top court over No. 9 Kayla Cross and Ella McDonald. After trailing 4-2, Auburn’s Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova caught fire and won the next four consecutive games to claim the comeback victory and clinch the doubles point for the Tigers.

LSU caught momentum to open singles, winning the first set on four courts while Bowers and Merna Refaat won their respective opening sets. LSU then closed out a straight-set win at the No. 6 position to tie the match at one.

LSU’s Carolina Kuhl took an early 3-1 lead in the first set over Refaat at the No. 4 singles position before the Auburn sophomore tied the set at three and later prevailed 6-4. In the second set, Refaat claimed each of the first three games over Kuhl and ultimately won in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 to give Auburn a 2-1 lead.

Khairutdinova fought back after dropping her first set to No. 65 Kayla Cross by winning the second set 6-0 and forcing a third, but Cross claimed the decisive third set to take the win and tie the match at two.

At the No. 5 singles position, Bowers came back from a 3-1 deficit to win her opening set over Addison Lanton thanks to three straight wins to close out the set 6-4. Bowers then prevailed in a tight second set 6-4 to claim the match and give Auburn a 3-2 lead.

Okutoyi and Ella McDonald went back-and-forth in the first set at the No. 3 singles position, with McDonald taking two straight games at five-all to claim a close first set. Okutoyi then pulled away in the second set to win it 6-3 and force a winner-take-all third set. DJ Bennett also forced a third set after dropping the first to Cadence Brace at the top singles position moments later.

With the final set tied 1-1, Okutoyi won each of the next three games to open up a 4-1 lead over McDonald and cruised to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory to clinch the match victory for Auburn.

The win marks Auburn’s highest-ranked win of the season and fifth win over a top-15 opponent. Auburn has now defeated a top-five team in back-to-back seasons, as the Tigers downed No. 3 Oklahoma State at home in 2025.

Auburn’s eighth consecutive victory improves its record to 21-1 overall and a perfect 5-0 in conference play. The Tigers also remain perfect on the road, winning all seven of their away contests.

The Tigers will return home to continue their SEC slate, taking on No. 7 Tennessee on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT and Kentucky on Saturday at noon CT. Fans in attendance on Thursday will receive “On Yarb Time” koozies while supplies last, and Saturday’s match will feature tennis bingo cards with prizes and a post-match kids clinic with players and coaches.

Admission to all matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center is free, and more fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.

 

#5 Auburn 4, #4 LSU 2

Singles Results:

  1. #52 Cadence Brace (LSU) vs. #33 DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-4, 4-6, 1-2, unfinished
  2. #65 Kayla Cross (LSU) def. #50 E. Khairutdinova (AUB) 6-4, 0-6, 6-0
  3. #91 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Ella McDonald (LSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
  4. Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Carolina Kuhl (LSU) 6-4, 6-2
  5. #27 Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Addison Lanton (LSU) 6-4, 6-4
  6. #120 Kinaa Graham (LSU) def. #31 Ava Esposito (AUB) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles Results:

  1. #14 DJ Bennett/Ava Esposito (AUB) def. #9 Kayla Cross/Ella McDonald (LSU) 6-1
  2. Cadence Brace/Carolina Kuhl (LSU) vs. #39 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) 5-4, unfinished
  3. #83 Ashton Bowers/E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Alexia Marginean/Addison Lanton (LSU) 6-4

 

Time of match: 2:55 Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3; Singles: 6,4,2,5,3 Official: Richie Weaver