AUBURN, Ala. – Top-ranked Auburn women’s tennis will host an NCAA super regional for the first time in program history on Friday at 5 p.m. CT against No. 15 Duke at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The match will mark the Tigers’ sixth round of 16 appearance all-time, and admission will be free.
“The team is pumped up and excited to be hosting,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “They’re getting so much attention and love, which they definitely appreciate. They realize the opportunity that is ahead of them. Hopefully, we’ll get an amazing crowd out there, and we can give our best effort and play close to our best. If we do, we’ll feel really good about where we’ll be on Friday evening.
“The thing that’s great about the Auburn crowd is that they’re passionate and they bring great energy, but they’re respectful and understand tennis. It creates a great environment not only for us to play well, but also for the other team.”
Friday’s match will serve as a rematch of last season’s NCAA Super Regional in Durham, North Carolina, where the Blue Devils escaped with a 4-2 victory after the Tigers nearly came back, reaching match point in two singles matches simultaneously while trailing 3-2.
Auburn, the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Championship, will enter the match with a 34-3 overall record and riding an eight-match winning streak. In his second season at the helm, Szabo led the Tigers to a share of their first SEC regular-season championship with a 13-2 record in conference play and the program’s first conference tournament title. The team is ranked No. 1 in both the ITA National Team Rankings and the UTR Sports College Team Rankings and has picked up 12 victories over top-25 teams this season.
During the NCAA Auburn Regional over the weekend, Auburn defeated Bryant 4-0 in the round of 64 on Friday before downing Miami by the same score in the round of 32 on Saturday. The Tigers are undefeated at home this season, posting a perfect 21-0 record at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Duke, the No. 15 overall seed in the NCAA Championship, reached the super regional with wins over VCU and Tennessee to claim its regional title at home. The Blue Devils are 20-7 overall this season and posted a strong 10-2 record in ACC play. In 2025, Duke reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the 23rd time in program history, where it fell to Georgia, the eventual national champion, by a 4-1 score.
“They’re a good team,” Szabo said. “They went to national indoors and took two losses, which is probably why they’re a little underrated. I know a lot of their players from recruiting them as juniors, and they are great players. It’s going to be a really tough match because they have great players on every line. Jamie Ashworth, the head coach, has won a national title there, so they know how to get the job done. Obviously, we had a close match against them last year, but our teams are very different than last year.”
Irina Balus has led Duke in singles this season, posting a 16-4 dual-match record exclusively at the top of the lineup. She is 21-9 overall this season and currently ranked No. 18 nationally in singles by the ITA.
The Tigers have one win over the Blue Devils in the all-time series. Auburn defeated Duke on the road 4-2 in 2024 to qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
The winner of the NCAA super regional will punch its ticket to the NCAA quarterfinals, which will be held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia, on May 15. Auburn has never reached the national quarterfinals in program history.
Fans in attendance at Friday evening’s match will receive free Moe’s BBQ and Kona Ice while supplies last. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are permitted at the facility, and more fan information is available at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay. Live video and live scoring of the super regional matchup will be available at AuburnTigers.com.
Auburn in the rankings (ITA)
Singles:
16 – DJ Bennett
55 – Angella Okutoyi
58 – Ashton Bowers
68 – Ava Esposito
Doubles: