AUBURN, Ala. – No. 4 Auburn women’s tennis shut out Missouri by a 4-0 score on Friday evening at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The Tigers claimed the match behind a doubles point and straight-set singles victories from DJ Bennett, Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Ava Esposito.
“It’s an awesome win for the team,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said after the match. “Anytime you can win a match and not lose a set, it’s pretty impressive, especially in the SEC. Missouri’s obviously had a tough year, but they were fighting hard and I feel like we get everybody’s best.
“We haven’t played since Saturday, which is our longest break in between matches since after ITA Indoors, so it was nice to get home with beautiful weather and perfect conditions to play good tennis. Even after the girls had tight first sets, they were sprinting through the finish line and playing better as the match went on. Got out of there in under two hours to get a little rest. We’ll get a great practice tomorrow and get ready for Senior Day on Sunday.”
Auburn started the match strong in doubles, as the top Tiger pair of DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito defeated Gian Octa and Lara Quaglia 6-2 at the No. 1 position. Moments later, Auburn’s Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Ashton Bowers won 6-1 at the No. 3 doubles position to clinch the doubles point. Khairutdinova and Bowers are now 23-2 this spring as a doubles pairing.
The Tigers kept the momentum in singles, winning the opening set on all six courts to start singles play.
With the first set tied at 1-1 at the No. 2 position, Khairutdinova won three straight games over Korina Roso and went on to claim the set 6-2. The Auburn senior then opened the second set with three consecutive games and ultimately won the match 6-2, 6-2.
Bennett served a bagel in her first set over No. 49 Gian Octa to set the tone early on the top singles court. Octa won three of the first four games of the second set, but Bennett came roaring back to win the set 6-3 to earn her 15th win of the season and improve her dual-match record to 14-6. Khairutdinova and Bennett’s matches ended within seconds of each other, giving Auburn a 3-0 lead.
At the No. 5 position, Esposito jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set over Zoe Lazar before winning it 6-2. Esposito then won three straight games to open the second set, but Lazar bounced back with two straight games. The Auburn junior responded with three consecutive games to close out the 6-2, 6-2 victory and clinch the team win for the Tigers.
The win improves Auburn’s record to 28-3 overall this season and 12-2 in conference play. The victory also maintains the Tigers’ undefeated home record at 18-0 this season. Auburn and Texas A&M are tied for the top spot in the SEC standings, meaning that an Auburn win on Sunday would clinch at least a share of the 2026 SEC title.
The Tigers will conclude the regular season at home on Sunday at noon CT against No. 13 Vanderbilt for Senior Day at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Fans in attendance for the match will receive free Auburn women’s tennis tumblers while supplies last. A Senior Day presentation will take place following Sunday’s match on the competition courts to honor Auburn seniors DJ Bennett, Angella Okutoyi and Ekaterina Khairutdinova.
Live video and live scoring of both matches will be available at AuburnTigers.com. Additional fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
#4 Auburn 4, Missouri 0
Singles Results:
- #37 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #49 Gian Octa (MIZ) 6-0, 6-3
- #49 E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Korina Roso (MIZ) 6-2, 6-2
- #72 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) vs. Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) 7-6 (7-5), 1-0, unfinished
- Merna Refaat (AUB) vs. Alex Ackman (MIZ) 6-4, 4-1, unfinished
- #55 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Zoe Lazar (MIZ) 6-2, 6-2
- Eva Ionescu (AUB) vs. Lara Quaglia (MIZ) 6-3, 4-3, unfinished
Doubles Results:
- #3 DJ Bennett/Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Gian Octa/Lara Quaglia (MIZ) 6-2
- #18 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) vs. Korina Roso/Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) 3-4, unfinished
- E. Khairutdinova/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Zoe Lazar/Alex Ackman (MIZ) 6-1
Time of match: 1:53 Order of finish: Doubles: 1,3; Singles: 2,1,5 Official: Wes Littlefield