No. 13 Auburn University’s women’s tennis team will travel to Norman, Oklahoma, on Thursday to play No. 11 University of Oklahoma at the Headington Family Tennis Center. The match is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT and will be Auburn’s second consecutive road contest as they begin Southeastern Conference (SEC) play.
“Oklahoma has a great team,” said Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo. “We remember them dancing on our courts last year when we lost to them 4-3 and they were a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament last year. If we were to have beaten them, then we probably would’ve been a top four seed. It’s going to be a big match.
“A bunch of our girls played a professional event there in the fall, so we’re somewhat familiar with the conditions, but we’ll have to go out there, compete really hard and bring it. They always bring a lot of energy and intensity.”
Auburn enters the match with a 16-1 overall record and is 1-0 in SEC play after defeating Florida 5-2 on Saturday. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 1 in the latest UTR College Team Rankings for the second week in a row.
Senior DJ Bennett helped secure Auburn’s win against Florida by clinching both the doubles point with Ava Esposito and later winning her singles match against Valery Gynina, ranked No. 54 nationally, with scores of 6-3, 6-3. Bennett was named SEC Player of the Week for her performance.
Teammates Ashton Bowers and Ava Esposito also won their singles matches in straight sets during that contest, improving their season records to 10-0 and 11-0 respectively in dual-match singles play.
Oklahoma brings a 10-2 overall record into Thursday’s matchup and is undefeated at home this season with an 8-0 mark. The Sooners opened conference play by beating Arkansas at home, 4-0, on Sunday. Their only losses have come against Texas A&M and North Carolina during the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
The Sooners’ roster features sophomore Julia Garcia Ruiz as their only ranked singles player at No. 18 nationally; she holds an overall singles record of 11-6 this season. In doubles, Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum are ranked as the nation’s top pair with a combined record of 10-2.
Live video coverage and scoring for Thursday’s match will be available at SoonerSports.com.
Auburn has five players featured in national singles rankings: Ashton Bowers (No. 26), Ava Esposito (No. 27), DJ Bennett (No. 37), Angella Okutoyi (No. 95), and Alice Battesti (No.105). In doubles rankings, Angella Okutoyi/Ava Esposito are No.48; Ashton Bowers/DJ Bennett are No.65; Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat are No.86.
