AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women’s tennis received five SEC postseason honors, the conference office announced Wednesday. Head coach Jordan Szabo was named SEC Coach of the Year and Ekaterina Khairutdinova was tabbed SEC Newcomer of the Year. Khairutdinova, DJ Bennett and Angella Okutoyi were each named second-team All-SEC.
In his second season at the helm, Szabo led Auburn to its first SEC regular-season championship and first conference tournament championship. Szabo’s Tigers are currently 32-3 overall this season and earned a share of the conference title with a 13-2 mark in SEC matches. Auburn reached No. 1 in the ITA National Team Rankings on Tuesday and has recorded 12 victories over top-25 teams this season. Szabo is the first Auburn coach to earn the honor since 2002.
Auburn senior Ekaterina Khairutdinova has made the most of her only season on the Plains, posting a 16-6 dual-match singles record while primarily competing at the No. 2 position, as well as a 26-3 dual-match doubles record this spring with partner Ashton Bowers, primarily at the No. 3 position. Khairutdinova has recorded four ranked singles wins this spring, including a straight-set win over No. 12 Anastasia Abbaganato of Texas. The Auburn senior is currently ranked No. 31 in the ITA singles rankings.
Along with Khairutdinova’s two conference honors this season, she also earned two conference Player of the Year honors, two first-team singles All-Conference USA honors and two first-team doubles All-Conference USA honors during her time at FIU.
Auburn senior DJ Bennett has continued her storied collegiate career with a strong 2026 campaign and has picked up her third All-SEC honor in as many seasons. Bennett is 17-6 in dual matches this season, primarily at the top of the Tigers’ singles lineup. She and doubles partner Ava Esposito are 16-3 in dual matches this spring, playing regularly at the No. 1 position.
Bennett has picked up 11 ranked singles wins this spring, including two top-10 victories over No. 3 Piper Charney of Michigan and No. 6 Bridget Stammel of Vanderbilt. The Auburn senior is currently ranked No. 15 in singles and No. 2 with Ava Esposito in doubles by the ITA. Bennett became the first player in program history to reach a No. 1 ITA singles ranking in August and is part of the highest-ranked doubles team in program history at No. 2. The Belleview, Florida, native was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2023, second-team All-SEC in 2024 and first-team All-SEC last season.
Auburn senior Angella Okutoyi has also put together an impressive final season on the Plains and has earned second-team All-SEC honors for the third consecutive season. Okutoyi has posted an 18-2 dual-match singles record and a 9-1 SEC record this spring, primarily at the No. 3 position. Okutoyi has also been the regular at the No. 2 doubles position for Auburn this season with partner Merna Refaat. Okutoyi and Refaat are 15-3 as a doubles pairing this spring and 6-1 in SEC matches. The pair is currently ranked No. 7 in doubles by the ITA, which is a career-high for Okutoyi.
Auburn will discover its seeding for the NCAA women’s tennis championship during the selection show, which is scheduled for April 27 at 2:30 p.m. CT. The show will be streamed live on NCAA.com.