No. 13 Auburn women’s tennis secured a 4-2 win over No. 11 Oklahoma in Norman on Thursday, marking the team’s second consecutive road victory to open conference play. The Tigers clinched the doubles point and followed with three straight-set singles wins.
“Good win for the girls,” said Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo. “Great doubles point. We found a way to get that done and getting three singles wins was big. Oklahoma is a tough place to play and they have a great team that is really well coached. We got some revenge on last year and I’m excited about the win. Still some room to grow, and that’s what we’ll be hungry for at practice tomorrow ahead of Saturday’s matches against Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky.
“Some really big performances from Angie (Okutoyi) and Merna (Refaat) to get off the court quickly as well as Ekaterina (Khairutdinova) finding a way to win. Ashton (Bowers) splitting that second set really helped us. We’re excited, but still a lot of work to do to get better.”
Auburn started strong in doubles, with Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova earning their 13th straight spring victory by defeating Julia Garcia Ruiz and Salakthip Ounmuang 6-4. At No. 2 doubles, Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat edged out Evialina Laskevich and Edda Mamedova 7-5, securing the crucial doubles point.
In singles play, both teams took three opening sets each. Merna Refaat opened her match against Chloe Noel with three consecutive games before winning 6-2, improving her dual-match singles record this season to 7-1 and giving Auburn a 2-0 lead.
Angella Okutoyi also won her first set against Edda Mamedova 6-2 at No. 3 singles, later closing out the match with a 6-3 second set after being tied at three games apiece.
Oklahoma responded by taking two straight-set victories at No. 1 and No. 6 singles positions, narrowing Auburn’s lead to one point.
Ekaterina Khairutdinova then secured the team victory for Auburn by defeating Julia Garcia Ruiz in straight sets (6-4, 7-5). She built an early lead in both sets before holding off Garcia Ruiz late in the second set.
With this result, Auburn improves its overall record to 17-1 and remains undefeated in conference play at 2-0. The all-time series between Auburn and Oklahoma is now tied at two wins each for both programs.
Auburn will return home for its SEC opener on Saturday against Arkansas at Yarbrough Tennis Center at 11 a.m., followed by another match versus Eastern Kentucky later that afternoon. Admission will be free for fans attending either match; complimentary Moe’s BBQ will be available while supplies last.
Live video streams and scoring updates can be accessed through AuburnTigers.com, where additional fan information is also provided.
