AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn women’s tennis has earned three regional honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the organization announced Tuesday. Head coach Jordan Szabo defended his title as ITA Southern Region Coach of the Year, DJ Bennett was named ITA Senior Player of the Year and Angella Okutoyi was named ITA Southern Region Most Improved Player.
In his second season at the helm of the Auburn program, Szabo delivered the best season in program history and was named SEC Coach of the Year. He led Auburn to the longest postseason run in program history, including a run to the NCAA Championship final, as well as the program’s first SEC regular-season title and SEC Tournament championship. The Tigers set program records for most wins in a season and most SEC wins in a season, going 37-4 overall and 13-2 in conference play. Auburn also became the top-ranked team in the nation during the season in both the ITA and UTR Sports rankings.
Bennett finished her four-year career on the Plains by going 17-9 in dual matches this season, primarily at the top of the Tigers’ singles lineup. In doubles, Bennett and partner Ava 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 duo 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 2026 SEC Tournament MVP finished the season ranked No. 16 in singles and No. 3 in doubles to secure ITA All-America honors in both disciplines. This marks the second ITA regional honor in Bennett’s career, as she was named ITA Southern Region Most Improved Player in 2025. An Auburn player has now won the Southern Region Senior Player of the Year award in four consecutive seasons, as Bennett follows Carolyn Ansari in 2023, Ariana Arseneault in 2024 and Ava Hrastar in 2025.
In her final season, Auburn senior Angella Okutoyi picked up her second regional honor from the ITA after being named ITA Southern Region Player to Watch in 2025. Okutoyi posted a 23-2 dual match singles record this season, regularly playing at the No. 3 position. In doubles, she and partner Merna Refaat went 20-4 and finished No. 8 in the final ITA doubles rankings, securing doubles All-America honors. Okutoyi and Refaat were also named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team in doubles after a standout postseason.
Individually, Okutoyi was named second-team All-SEC and to the SEC All-Tournament Team.
The ITA Southern Region includes all Division I programs from Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.