No. 1 Auburn downs No. 4 Ohio State 4-1, advances to NCAA Finals

Tournament Central
by Riley Hubbard
No. 1 Auburn downs No. 4 Ohio State 4-1, advances to NCAA FinalsNo. 1 Auburn downs No. 4 Ohio State 4-1, advances to NCAA Finals
Max Wilder

ATHENS, Ga. - No. 1 Auburn women’s tennis punched its ticket to the NCAA Championship final Saturday with a 4-1 win over fourth-ranked Ohio State in the semifinal round at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia. The Tigers cruised to the doubles point, then earned straight-set victories from Ava Esposito, Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat.

Auburn will face the winner of Saturday night’s match between No. 2 Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M in the championship match, scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m. CT.

“Great win for our program,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “This is where we wanted to be. We’ve been talking a big game all year, so it was great for us to be able to deliver when it matters. What a great doubles point. We really took it to them from the start. Our doubles has been amazing all year, and I really feel like we got a really good jump. At some point, especially in these big matches, you want to give yourself some cushion because it’s hard closing out sets and matches in these big moments.

“For us to be able to build a bunch of big leads in doubles really put us in a good spot. Then, winning four first sets in singles was an amazing accomplishment. Merna (Refaat) and Ava (Esposito) really dominated their second sets, Angie (Okutoyi) scratched and clawed, and Ashton (Bowers) was serving for the match.”

The Auburn pair of Okutoyi and Refaat set the tone early at the No. 2 doubles position with a dominant 6-1 win over Ohio State’s Hephzibah Oluwadare and Teah Chavez. On the top doubles court, Auburn’s DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito broke serve twice to take a 5-1 lead over Ohio State’s Flora Johnson and Luciana Perry.

Johnson and Perry battled back to cut the deficit to 5-3 before Bennett and Esposito broke to love in the final game to win 6-3 and clinch the doubles point. In 40 matches this season, Auburn has won the doubles point 38 times.

Saturday’s singles lineup returned to a familiar look, with Refaat back at No. 4. Auburn continued its momentum in singles, earning opening-set wins from Okutoyi, Refaat, Esposito and Ashton Bowers. The Buckeyes claimed the first singles match at the No. 1 position to tie the match at 1-1.

At the No. 6 position, Esposito rallied from an early 3-1 deficit in the first set against Ohio State’s Alessia Cau to tie it 4-4. The two held serve for the next three games before Esposito broke in the final game to take the set 7-5. She dominated her second set, delivering a 6-0 win to complete the straight-set victory. Esposito came back from a 30-0 deficit in the final game to win on a deciding point and record her 30th singles victory of the season, giving Auburn a 2-1 lead.

Okutoyi and Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev of Ohio State each held serve in their opening sets until the score reached 4-4. Okutoyi then secured a crucial break on a deciding point and held serve to take the set 6-4. Trailing 3-2 in the second, she won six consecutive points to take a 4-3 lead and later closed out the set 6-3 with a break in the final game. Okutoyi improved to 22-2 in dual matches this season and extended Auburn’s lead to 3-1.

At the time of Okutoyi’s match win, both Refaat and Bowers were within one game of clinching the match for Auburn.

At the No. 4 position, Refaat won back-to-back games on deciding points to take a 4-3 lead over Audrey Spencer. Spencer responded with a break to tie the set 4-4, but Refaat answered with a break to love and held on a deciding point to win the set 6-4.

Refaat then won four straight games to open the second set. With Refaat leading 5-1, Spencer fended off a deciding point to force another game before Refaat prevailed to win the match 6-4, 6-2 to clinch the win and begin the celebration with her teammates on court four.

“It was amazing to clinch the win for the team,” Refaat said. “From the beginning of the match, it was about focusing on the goal and getting the job done. I think that’s what helped me in the match. Also, trusting my teammates throughout. I was relaxed and never felt nervous because Ashton (Bowers) next to me was serving for the match. I’m confident in my team, and that’s what really helped me clinch it.”

The win improved Auburn’s record to 37-3 and extended its winning streak to 11 matches.

Live streaming of Sunday’s national title match will be available on ESPN+, with individual court feeds and live scoring available at GeorgiaDogs.com.

 

#1 Auburn 4, #4 Ohio State 1

Singles Results:

  1. #5 Teah Chavez (OSU) def. #16 DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-1, 6-0
  2. #31 E. Khairutdinova (AUB) vs. #4 Luciana Perry (OSU) 5-7, 5-3, unfinished
  3. #55 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Sophia CisseIgnatiev (OSU) 6-4, 6-3
  4. Merna Refaat (AUB) def. #123 Audrey Spencer (OSU) 6-4, 6-2
  5. #58 Ashton Bowers (AUB) vs. #76 Nao Nishino (OSU) 6-2, 6-5, unfinished
  6. #68 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Alessia Cau (OSU) 7-5, 6-0

Doubles Results:

  1. #2 Ava Esposito/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #23 Flora Johnson/Luciana Perry (OSU) 6-3
  2. #8 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) def. #34 Hephzibah Oluwadare/Teah Chavez (OSU) 6-1
  3. E. Khairutdinova/Ashton Bowers (AUB) vs. Sophia CisseIgnatiev/Audrey Spencer (OSU) 4-4, unfinished

 

Time of match: 2:16 Order of finish: Doubles: 2,1; Singles: 1,6,3,4