Auburn's women's tennis falls to top-ranked Georgia after a hard fought 4-3 loss at the ITA National Indoor Championship on the road in Evanston, Illinois. The Tigers who came into the match ranked fourth in the nation won the doubles point and were victorious in the five opening singles sets but ultimately fell to the defending National Champs.
“These are the positions we want to be in,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “Winning the doubles and winning five first sets is about as good a position as you can be in against the defending national champions, and that shows the quality of our team, even playing without Merna (Refaat)."
Auburn players Ava Esposito and Angella Okutoyi would set the standard for the Tigers early with their win in the first doubles set 6-1. The Bulldogs would answer following dropping this set with a 6-2 doubles win forcing a third set for what would be the determining match for the doubles competition. Tigers' players Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Ashton Bowers jumped out to a 4-3 lead on a deciding point which they then used as momentum to eventually achieve the match securing victory down the line and the doubles point.
This momentum was carried even further when Esposito won her first two sets to give Auburn an early 2-0 lead, never letting go of the lead through her deciding set. Auburn would eventually start to falter as Georgia began to steadily surge late with the final blow being Khairutdinova falling to Aysegul Mert 6-4 sealing Georgia's victory.
“But we have to find ways to become mentally and physically tougher," said coach Szabo. "If you give a team like Georgia an inch, they take a mile, and that’s what they did. They were much more composed down the stretch and were able to win three three-set matches. All the credit to Georgia. They’re the kind of program that we want to become. It’s been a great week and it shows what this team is capable of. The sky is the limit, and I’m hopeful this setback helps us grow and become better tennis players and a better team.”
This would end up being Auburn's first loss of the season dropping their record to 14-1. The Tigers will return back to their home turf this Sunday to face Grand Canyon and Middle Tennessee State in a doubleheader at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Auburn will take on Grand Canyon at 10 a.m. and Middle Tennessee State at 2 p.m. C.S.T.
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Reid is a sophomore majoring in accounting. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @ReidFarris2
