Taylor Russo Season 2016-17

Taylor Russo Season 2016-17

Height5-4
ClassFreshman
HometownDeerfield Beach, Fla.

ITA Southern Region Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award (2021)
NCAA Doubles Championship Selection (2021)

ITA Southern Region Senior Player of the Year (2020)
AD's Spirit of Auburn Award (2020)
SEC All-Freshman Team (2017)
SEC Community Service Team (2019, 2020, 2021)
SEC Academic Honor Roll (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)

As a Fifth-Year Graduate Student
Spring 2021:
Ranked No. 23 in final ITA national doubles rankings alongside Selin Ovunc ... Went 7-4 in singles and 7-4 in doubles in spring dual match season ... Ranked No. 99 in preseason singles rankings; moved as high as No. 10 in doubles ... Unbeaten in nine of first 10 singles matches on the year, playing mostly at the No. 5 position ... Clinched the Tigers' win over North Florida with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Valentina Mariotto ... Earned a key point in Auburn's win over South Carolina with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 win over Allie Gretkowski ... Earned two ranked doubles wins with Selin Ovunc ... Defeated Furman's 27th-ranked Kazarov/Adams 6-4 in the season-opener to clinch the doubles point in a 4-3 win ... Earned a 6-3 win over 29th-ranked Horvit/Davies of South Carolina ... Final season at Auburn was cut short by injury suffered in match vs. Mississippi State ... Finished Auburn career with 85 singles wins (6th in Auburn history), 90 doubles wins (4th in Auburn history) and 175 combined wins (5th in Auburn history) ... Ranked No. 1 in doubles with Ovunc in final ITA Southern Regional Rankings ... Named recipient of ITA Southern Region Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award ... SEC Community Service Team ... SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Fall 2020: Appeared in three fall tournaments, going 5-2 in singles and 1-6 in doubles ... Won two matches each at the Music City Scramble and the SEC Challenge.

As a Senior
Spring 2020
: Named ITA Southern Regional Senior Player of the Year ... Went 4-7 in dual singles and 8-4 in doubles, all at the No. 1 spot ... Was 8-4 in doubles and 2-2 in SEC play with Selin Ovunc ... Ranked as high as No. 9 nationally with Ovunc in doubles ... Ranked No. 14 in final published ITA doubles ranking when season was suspended ... Helped clinch doubles point vs. South Carolina with 6-3 win at No. 1 spot over 56th-ranked Mia Horvit/Megan Davies ... Clinched doubles point in Auburn win over Kentucky with 6-3 win at top spot ... Won four of first five singles matches played to completion ... Defeated No. 65 Akahska Bhan of Columbia 6-3, 7-5, in ITA Kick-Off consolation ... Faced seven ranked opponents in dual match season ... Ranked as high as No. 69 nationally in singles and finished 83rd in the final published ranking ... Named to SEC Community Service Team for second straight season ... Awarded Athletic Director's Spirit of Auburn Award at 2020 AUSPYs ... Graduated from Auburn in May with degree in journalism ... Finished fourth year at Auburn with 82 career doubles wins and 73 singles victories ... Her mark of 82 doubles wins ranks tied for sixth in Auburn history ... 73 singles wins is eighth-most in school history ... Her combined total of 155 wins places her eighth in Auburn history.

Fall 2019: Recorded 10-2 mark in singles and 10-5 record in doubles ... Teamed with Selin Ovunc to win ITA Southern Regional doubles title ... Defeated LSU's Eden Richardson and Nina Geissler on their home court 6-3, 6-2, to win the tournament championship, earning a bid to ITA Fall Nationals ... Won two doubles matches at ITA Fall Nationals in consolation bracket ... Defeated 14th-ranked team of Adaloglou and Racine of Mississippi State in ITA Southern Regional quarterfinal ... Went 2-1 at Marliss Gruver Invite with Madeline Meredith in doubles; opened fall season ranked No. 46 nationally in doubles with Meredith ... Advanced to semifinals at ITA Southern Regional in singles ... Defeated Ole Miss' 56th-ranked Sabina Machalova 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in ITA Southern Regional first round ... Earned a ranked singles win over No. 63 Sonia Smagina of Kansas, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, at Orlando Invitational.

As a Junior
Spring 2019:
Went 10-12 in singles and 14-7 in doubles in dual match play ... Including fall matches, was 16-15 in singles and 21-11 in doubles ... Was ranked as high as No. 14 nationally in doubles; finished the season ranked No. 45 ... Went 11-2 in doubles in the non-conference portion of the season ... Earned one win over a ranked opponent in doubles, defeating the No. 17 team from Oklahoma State 6-2 in the Blue-Gray Classic ... Teamed with Lindsay Song for an SEC win in doubles at Ole Miss ... Helped clinch the doubles point vs. Mississippi State, playing with Alannah Griffin at the No. 2 spot ... Earned three singles wins in SEC play, defeating opponents from Alabama, Florida and Missouri ... Earned a singles win vs. No. 13 Georgia Tech to help finish off the Tigers' comeback victory ... Enters her senior season with 65 career doubles wins, tied for 12th all-time at Auburn, and 124 combined singles and doubles wins, which ties for 14th all-time at Auburn ... Named to SEC Community Service Team and SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Fall 2018: Played in four tournaments, posting a 6-3 record in singles and a 7-4 record in doubles ... Had three wins over ranked doubles opponents in the fall season ... Won the first flight doubles title at the Marliss Gruver Fall Invitational, defeating the No. 31 ranked team from Ole Miss 8-5 in the final ... Invited to the ITA National Fall Championships in doubles; went 1-2 with a win over a team from Syracuse in that event.

As a Sophomore
Spring 2018: 
Finished with a 12-10 record in singles on the season while splitting time at the one through five spots … Two singles wins over ranked opponents, highest over previously No. 75 Stephanie Schrage … Went on a four-game winning streak in singles to close out the regular season … 10-14 in doubles while splitting time at the one and two spots … Opened the season on a four-game winning streak in doubles … Previously ranked by the ITA as high as 77 in singles and 47 in doubles partnered with Alizee Michaud ... SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Fall 2017: Preseason No. 60 in singles ... Preseason No. 2 in doubles with partner Alizee Michaud, the highest preseason doubles ranking in school history ... Runner-up at the ITA Southern Regional ... Qualified for the ITA National Fall Championships ... Picked up three wins over ranked opponents, including over No. 64 Ryann Foster of LSU at the ITA Southern Regional ... Compiled a 7-6 record in singles and 4-3 doubles record ... Competed in the 2017 Rivera/ITA All-American Championships in both singles and doubles.

As a Freshman
Spring 2017: Named to the SEC All-Freshman team … Posted a 24-11 record in singles with five wins over ranked opponents … Led the team with 29 doubles victories, tied for the most in a single season in school history ... Advanced to the NCAA Doubles Tournament Round of 16 with partner Alizee Michaud ... Battled back to clinch the match vs. No. 5 Texas Tech to win the Blue Gray Championships … Defeated No. 28 Katherine Ip (Rice) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 … Clinched seven matches … Had eight wins over ranked opponents including No. 4 Caroline Brinson/Ellen Perez vs. Georgia at the SEC Championship … Clinched the doubles point at five matches … Earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice ... SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll. 

Fall 2016: Preseason No. 27 in doubles with partner Allie Michaud … Competed in the 2016 Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American with teammate Allie Michaud … Advanced to the main draw round of 16 after battling through the consolation bracket of the Women’s All-American … Led the team with 11 doubles victories during the fall including two wins over ranked opponents.

Prior to Auburn: Ranked the No. 12 recruit in the United States … No. 2 ranked player in the Southeast and top-ranked player in the state of Florida … Advanced to the finals of the 2016 Hard Court Nationals in doubles … Won the Level 2 National Selection in February 2016 … 2015 Florida Level 3 State Doubles Champion … 2015 National Selection Level 2 Doubles Champion and 2015 16s National Clay and hard Court Doubles Champion … Finished 9-2 at the National Clay Courts 18s and made the 2015 18s National Hard Court Sweet 16 as an individual. 

Personal: Daughter of Shastine and Eddie Russo … Has two siblings, Shannon and Dante.