Auburn women’s tennis team defeated No. 6 Texas with a 4-0 victory at the Weller Tennis Center in Austin on April 4. The Tigers, ranked No. 4, secured their fourth win of the season against a top-10 opponent.
The result highlights Auburn’s strong performance this season and positions them well as they approach the end of regular conference play. The match began with Auburn winning the doubles point, followed by singles victories from Ekaterina Khairutdinova, Ashton Bowers, and Ava Esposito.
Head coach Jordan Szabo said, “It was really good to bounce back after a really tough night on Thursday, and we looked more like ourselves battling on all six singles courts and all three doubles courts.” Szabo also noted the quick wins by Esposito and Bowers helped set the tone for the team: “It wasn’t easy for Ashton after playing at Texas last year to go out and have two convincing wins. Other girls were turning matches. Angie (Okutoyi), Merna (Refaat) and DJ (Bennett) were hanging in there.”
Szabo praised Khairutdinova’s effort clinching the match: “That was a signature win for Katya (Khairutdinova) since she’s been at Auburn to clinch the match…for her to come through in the clutch and find a way to put the fourth point on the board for us was really good.” He added that this win sets up their season moving forward: “Our goals are all ahead of us and now it’s time to enjoy Easter, a couple days off and get ready for Senior Weekend.”
In doubles play, Khairutdinova and Bowers won their match 6-2 over Carmen Herea and Mathilde Ngijol-Carré. On court one, Esposito teamed with DJ Bennett for another 6-2 victory against Anastasia Abbagnato and Salma Drugdova. In singles action, Esposito won quickly at No. 6 position with scores of 6-0, 6-2; Bowers followed with a straight-set win; Khairutdinova clinched overall victory by defeating Abbagnato in two close sets.
With this result, Auburn improves its record to 27-3 overall and holds an 11-2 mark in conference play. The Tigers will conclude their regular season at home facing Missouri on Thursday evening before taking on Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon.
