No. 1 Auburn women’s tennis took down No. 10 LSU 4-1 in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals Friday afternoon, advancing to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
Auburn started the match strong, taking the doubles point before dropping the opening set on five courts to open singles play. The Tigers regrouped and earned the win via singles victories from Eva Ionescu, Angella Okutoyi and Ekaterina Khairutdinova.
“Winning the doubles point was huge for us,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said. “We’ve only lost a couple all year, so winning that was very good for us, but we put ourselves in a big hole. We didn’t want to be there and didn’t think we were necessarily playing our best, but the fight and spirit were definitely on display, and I think our team got better and better.”
Ashton Bowers and Khairutdinova cruised through the No. 3 doubles position, earning a 6-3 victory and securing their 30th doubles win of the season.
At the No. 2 singles position, Khairutdinova had a hard-fought battle with LSU’s Kayla Cross, but the Auburn senior ultimately emerged victorious, picking up the 7-4 tiebreak win.
At the No. 6 position, Ionescu lost the first set to LSU’s Kinaa Graham but quickly flipped momentum, winning the second set 6-0 to force a third. Ionescu held on to secure the win and clinch the match for Auburn.
“Not playing Merna (Refaat) was not easy, but we felt like this was the best thing for our team if we wanted to win it all," Szabo said. "We have so much trust in Ava (Esposito), Eva (Ionescu) and all of our players that we put out there to get the job done. Very pleased with the girls. They’ve worked so hard all year, and they’re a great group.”
With this historic victory, Auburn advances to the NCAA Championship semifinals and will take on the winner of No. 4 Ohio State and No. 11 Pepperdine.
The Tigers are now 36-3 overall on the season and are winners of 10 straight matches.
Saturday’s semifinal showdown is scheduled for 3 p.m. CDT on ESPN+ as Szabo and company are one win away from the program’s first-ever national championship match appearance.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Rory Garvin, junior in journalism sports production, has been with The Auburn Plainsman since Spring 2025. Garvin previously served as a Sports Reporter. He is currently serving as the Assistant Sports Editor.
