No. 2 Auburn women’s tennis is headed to the NCAA Super Regional for just the sixth time in program history.
The Tigers punched their ticket with a 4-0 shutout victory over Miami in the round of 32 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon, winning the NCAA Auburn Regional and clinching their second consecutive NCAA Super Regional appearance.
“It was an amazing atmosphere today,” Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo said of the crowd of over 400 fans. “The Auburn Family showed up and made a really big difference for us, especially in the doubles. “Miami is a really good team, and they’re under-ranked. They had North Carolina on the ropes earlier in the year, and they’re one of the best teams in the country. Paige (Yaroshuk-Tews) is a legendary coach, and that was a really tough draw that we were given.
The Tigers came out strong during the doubles point, dominating all three courts with scores of 6-1, 6-1 and 5-2 (unfinished). Auburn’s Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Ashton Bowers opened their match at the No. 3 position by taking each of their first four games before closing out the 6-1 victory.
Meanwhile, on the top doubles court, Ava Esposito and DJ Bennett bounced back from a loss in the first game by taking six consecutive games to secure the doubles point for Auburn.
The Tigers kept their foot on the gas heading into the singles, winning the opening set in five of the six matches.
Angella Okutoyi lifted Auburn to a quick 2-0 lead to kick off singles, even despite falling behind early in the first set to Miami’s Sebastianna Scilipoti before winning a break on a deciding point to tie the set at 3-3.
Okutoyi went on to take the first set with a 6-3 victory and continued her momentum into the second, winning the first five games over Scilipoti en route to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Bowers, Auburn’s No. 5-seeded player, won two straight breaks to build an early 4-0 lead over Miami’s Jaquelyn Ogunwale. However, Ogunwale didn’t go down without a fight, taking the next two games before Bowers sealed the first set with a 6-2 win.
The second set saw a nearly identical outcome for the Auburn sophomore, as Bowers took a quick 4-0 advantage before Ogunwale won the next two games. Bowers managed to hold on, ultimately giving Auburn a 3-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 final.
AUBURN, AL - MAY 02 - Auburn's Ashton Bowers - (2) Auburn Tigers vs. Miami Hurricanes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, AL on Saturday, May 2, 2026. Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers
The victory sealed a perfect weekend for the Bowers, as she won both of her doubles and singles matches on Friday and Saturday. She also made history this year, with her 62 overall combined victories marking the most in program history for a single season.
The No. 2-seed battle between Khairutdinova and Miami’s Sofia Rocchetti featured a much tighter matchup, as the first set was tied at 3-3 before Khairutdinova won the next three games to win 6-3.
In the second set, Rochetti found herself leading 4-3, but Khairutdinova took three straight sets to ultimately clinch a Sweet 16 berth.
Auburn improves to 34-3 overall this season and maintains its undefeated home record of 21-0, and the Tigers are set to host the NCAA round of 16 for the first time in program history.
The Tigers will face the No. 15 Duke Blue Devils next weekend — either May 8 or May 9 — at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. The match’s date and time are yet to be announced.
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Gunner is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
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