Auburn University junior Ava Esposito advanced to the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship after defeating Keisha Mahendran from USC on Tuesday. The match took place at the USTA National Tennis Campus in Orlando, Florida.
Esposito overcame a 5-2 deficit in the first set but ultimately lost it 6-4. She responded by winning the second set 6-2, forcing a decisive third set. The final set was closely contested and ended in a tiebreaker, with Esposito prevailing 7-3. The match lasted two hours and 22 minutes.
“Ava Esposito gets a huge win in a third set tiebreaker over Keisha Mahendran! #WarEaglepic.twitter.com/UBtZDf0YE7” Auburn Women’s Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) posted on X (formerly Twitter).
In other action on Tuesday evening, Auburn sophomore Ashton Bowers was eliminated from the tournament after losing to Reece Carter of Washington, 6-4, 6-4.
Esposito is scheduled to play Anastasiia Grechkina of Pepperdine in the round of 32 on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. CT.
The NCAA Singles Championship follows a single-elimination format, with one round played each day until Sunday’s championship match. Players who reach the round of 16 earn ITA Singles All-American honors.
Matches from the championship are available for live streaming on ESPN+, and live scoring can be accessed at NCAA.com.
