AUBURN, Ala. – Two Auburn singles players and two Tiger doubles teams have earned ITA All-America honors, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Tuesday. In addition to Ava Esposito, who secured her honor in the fall, senior DJ Bennett has earned singles All-America honors for the second consecutive season. The Auburn pairs of Bennett and Esposito, as well as Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat, have each been named doubles All-Americans.
Bennett capped off her storied collegiate career by going 17-9 in dual matches this season, primarily at the top of the Tigers’ singles lineup. She picked up 12 ranked wins, including two top-10 victories over No. 3 Piper Charney of Michigan and No. 6 Bridget Stammel of Vanderbilt. The Auburn senior finished the season ranked No. 16 in singles to secure her All-America honors and became the first player in program history to reach a No. 1 ITA singles ranking in August.
The captain goes out as an All-American 🫡
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 26, 2026
DJ Bennett has earned ITA Singles All-American status for the second consecutive season! 🏅#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/SdIXiTY7yC
Esposito became an All-American after reaching the NCAA Singles Championship round of 16 in November with wins over Krisha Mahendran of USC and Anastasiia Grechkina of Pepperdine. The Auburn junior finished the season 30-6 overall in singles and 20-3 in dual matches.
Bennett and Esposito became the highest-ranked doubles team in program history on April 14 when they reached No. 2 in the nation. The pair was the regular at the top of the Auburn doubles lineup and went 17-4 in dual matches with eight ranked victories and two wins over top-10 opponents. The Auburn duo finished the season as the No. 3 doubles team in the nation.
The highest ranked doubles team in program history is now an All-American pairing 🇺🇸
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 26, 2026
DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito are now @ITA_Tennis All-Americans in both singles and doubles this season 🏆🏆#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/xrELqwG1Qu
Okutoyi and Refaat primarily played at the No. 2 doubles position and posted a 19-4 record this spring, including a 6-1 mark in SEC play. The pair won five matches during Auburn’s NCAA postseason run and was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. Okutoyi and Refaat finished the season ranked No. 7 nationally in doubles by the ITA.
The African duo is checking in as ALL-AMERICAN 🇺🇸
— Auburn Women's Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 26, 2026
Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat have recieved @ITA_Tennis Doubles All-American status ✅✅#WarEagle #NoWeakness pic.twitter.com/GTwDk5ex8C
Refaat is now a two-time ITA All-American after earning singles honors last season, while Esposito becomes the second player in program history to earn singles and doubles All-America honors in the same season. Bennett now has four All-America selections in her career, the most of any player in program history.
Criteria for ITA All-America singles honors include winning the ITA All-American Championship, advancing to the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship or finishing in the top 20 of the final ITA Singles Rankings. All-America recognition is awarded to doubles teams that win the ITA All-American Championship, reach the NCAA Doubles Championship quarterfinals or finish in the top 10 of the final ITA National Doubles Rankings.