No. 5 Auburn women’s tennis secured a significant victory over No. 4 LSU on Sunday at the LSU Tennis Complex in Baton Rouge. The Tigers overcame an early deficit to win the doubles point and then delivered key singles performances, including a decisive three-set win by senior Angella Okutoyi at the No. 3 position, clinching the match for Auburn.
Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo commented on the result: “How about those Auburn Tigers? Huge win for us on the road after we’ve played four out of the last five on the road in conference play. It was great to win the doubles point after clawing back at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles and a great performance from Ava (Esposito) and DJ (Bennett).
“It was a tough go of it in the singles to start, losing four first sets, but DJ and Kataya (Khairutdinova) battled back to put a lot of pressure on them and Angie (Okutoyi) was ice cold down the stretch. We’ll travel back, get some rest and get ready to go at home next weekend. A very exciting win for us, one that is going to help us the rest of the way. We just have to keep taking care of what we can control and keep trying to get better.”
In doubles play, DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito opened with a strong 6-1 victory over LSU’s Kayla Cross and Ella McDonald on court one. Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova followed by rallying from behind to secure their match 6-4, giving Auburn an early lead.
LSU responded in singles by winning first sets on four courts, while Bowers and Merna Refaat took their opening sets for Auburn. LSU tied the match with a straight-set win at No. 6 singles before Refaat defeated Carolina Kuhl in straight sets to restore Auburn’s lead.
Khairutdinova pushed her match against Kayla Cross to three sets but ultimately fell as LSU evened the score again. Bowers won her singles match in two close sets, putting Auburn ahead 3-2.
At No. 3 singles, Okutoyi dropped a close first set but came back strongly in the next two sets against Ella McDonald, winning 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 to secure victory for Auburn.
This marks Auburn’s highest-ranked win this season and its fifth over a top-15 opponent. The team has now recorded wins over top-five opponents in consecutive seasons.
With this result, Auburn extends its winning streak to eight matches and improves its overall record to 21-1 with an undefeated mark in conference play at 5-0. The team also remains unbeaten away from home with seven road victories.
Auburn will return home for SEC matches against No. 7 Tennessee on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT and Kentucky on Saturday at noon CT at Yarbrough Tennis Center. Fans attending Thursday’s match will receive “On Yarb Time” koozies while supplies last; Saturday will feature tennis bingo cards with prizes as well as a post-match kids clinic involving players and coaches.
Admission is free for all matches at Yarbrough Tennis Center; more information can be found at AuburnTigers.com/MatchDay.
