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Auburn
No. 9 Women’s Tennis falls to No. 11 Auburn, 4-3
03.09.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns rallied across four three-set singles matches, but came up just short in one of them in the program’s first trip to Auburn.
Auburn, Ala. – No. 9 Texas Women's Tennis fell to No. 11 Auburn, 4-3, on Sunday in a match that was moved indoors due to weather at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
After Auburn won a pair of 6-4 matches at Nos. 3 and 2 to take the doubles point, the Tigers secured singles wins Nos. 1, 5 and 6 to clinch. However, the match at No. 6 was decided by a break late in the third set, and the Longhorns followed with singles victories by freshmen No. 70 Ashton Bowers at No. 2, No. 30 Carmen Herea at No. 4, and No. 69 Eszter Meri at No. 3.
In Bowers' match, she defeated No. 99 Ava Hrastar, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1. The first three games were all breaks until Hrastar held for a 3-1 lead. The set was on serve from there up to a 5-3 lead for Hrastar when Bowers went on a 4-0 run for the win. Hrastar broke first in the second set for a 3-2 lead that she consolidated for 4-2. Two games later, Bowers had a break point opportunity at deuce, but Hrastar managed to hold and then broke again to win the set, 6-3. In the third, both players held starting with Bowers, but she took control from there with a 5-0 run to the win.
The next two wins came seconds apart and both in third-set tiebreakers. The first of those was Herea's 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4) top-30 win over No. 28 Merna Refaat. Both players broke to begin the match, starting with Refaat, who broke again for a 3-2 lead that she consolidated for 4-2. However, Herea ran the table from there with a 4-0 run to the win. In the second set, the first three games were breaks until Refaat held on a deuce point and broke again for a 4-1 lead. The next two games were also breaks until Refaat held for the 6-2 win. For the third-consecutive set, both players broke the other's opening serve. Herea then held broke on a deuce point to start a string of four-straight deuce points. The first three were breaks until Herea held on the last one for a 5-2 lead. Refaat then went on a 3-0 run with a deuce-point break in the second of those to even it, and the players held the last two games to go to a tiebreaker. There, it alternated between one-point leads for Rafaat and ties, until Herea used a 3-0 run to take a 5-3 lead. Refaat won the next point for 5-4, but Herea won the last two for the win.
Meri's final point had started before Herea's finished to end Meri's 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7) win over No. 71 Angella Okutoyi. Okutoyi earned the only two breaks of the first set for 2-0 and 5-2 leads before serving it out. After the first three games were on serve in the second set for a 2-1 lead for Okutoyi, Meri set out on a 5-0 run to force a third. The first two games there were deuce-point breaks starting with Meri, and Meri later broke again for a 4-3 lead. It was the first of four-straight breaks before the players both hold their final serves to go to a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Okutoyi served first and held the first point, but Meri went on a 4-0 run. Okutoyi rallied to tie it, 5-5, and although Meri won the next point to set up a match point, Okutoyi won consecutive points for her own match point at 7-6. However, Meri took it from there with a 3-0 run to the win.
The other three-set match came at No. 6 where freshman Salma Drugdova and Alice Battesti were knotted at one set apiece and 4-4 in the third, but Battesti got the break she need to then serve out the 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 clinching win. In the first set, Drugdova moved out to a 3-0 lead a break in the second game, but Battesti answered it to tie it. Drugdova's next two serves then went to deuce with Drugdova holding the first, but Battesti broke for a 5-4 lead on the second. However, Drugdova broke back to start a 3-0 run to the win. In the second set, Battesti established a 3-0 lead with two breaks. Drugdova got one of those back in the next game for 3-1, but Battesti secured consecutive deuce-point wins to begin a 3-0 run for the set. Drugdova broke to open the third set, but Battesti broke back and held on a deuce point as part of a 4-0 run. Drugdova rebounded to tie it, but Battesti got one more break before winning.
Earlier in singles, the first match to finish was at No. 1 where senior No. 38 Sabina Zeynalova was downed in a hard-fought contest by No. 4 DJ Bennett, 6-4, 7-5. Bennett held on a deuce-point for a 2-1 lead before getting the first break and consolidating for 4-1. Zeynalova got the break back on a deuce point as part of a 3-0 run to tie it, but Bennett later picked up a deuce-point break to take the set. In the second, Zeynalova broke first for a 2-1 lead and consolidated for 3-1. However, after she held on a deuce point for a 5-3 advantage, Bennett mounted a 4-0 run that included a deuce-point break for 6-5 on the way to the win and a 2-0 lead.
Moments later, the lead increased to 3-0 as junior Vivian Ovrootsky fell to Ava Esposito, 7-6 (9), 6-3 at No. 5. Ovrootsky had broken in the opening game, and after Esposito held on a deuce point to trail, 4-3, Esposito got the break back to even it and held against deuce for a 5-4 lead. The set was then on serve to the tiebreaker where Esposito took a 3-1 lead, but Ovrootsky came back with four straight points for 5-3. Ovrootsky later had set points leading 7-6 and 9-8, while she deflected one for Esposito trailing 8-7. With Ovrootsky up, 9-8, Esposito closed on a 3-0 run. In the second set, Ovrootsky broke first for a 3-1 lead, but Esposito went on a 5-0 run for the win.
Earlier in doubles, Auburn took a pair of 6-4 wins, starting with Herea and Drugdova falling to Esposito and Maria Garcia at No. 3. The Longhorns broke in the opening game, but the Tigers broke back to put the match back on serve. Texas again broke on a deuce point for a 4-3 lead, but Auburn once again broke back to start a 3-0 run for the win.
The Tigers won by the same score at No. 2 where Bowers and Ovrootsky were downed by Okutoyi and Refaat. The Tigers were first to break in that match for a 3-1 lead after having just held at deuce for 2-1. Down, 4-1, the Longhorns held one a deuce point and got the break back before holding again to even it, 4-4. However, Auburn was able to break in the final game for the win.
In the remaining unfinished match at No. 1, Zeynalova and freshman Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz trailed the No. 18 pair of DJ Bennet and Ava Hrastar, 5-4, when play stopped. The Tigers got out to a 3-0 lead with a deuce-point break in the second game. They later held on another deuce point for 4-1, as did the Longhorns for 5-3. Texas had just broken for 5-4 to get back on serve when play halted.
Texas (8-6, 2-3 SEC) will next travel to Nashville to face No. 16 Vanderbilt on Friday, March 14, at 2 p.m. CT.
#11 Auburn 4, #9 Texas 3
Singles – Order of Finish (1,5,6,2,3,4)
1. #4 DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #38 Sabina Zeynalova (TEXAS) 6-4, 7-5
2. #70 Ashton Bowers (TEXAS) def. #99 Ava Hrastar (AUB) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
3. #69 Eszter Meri (TEXAS) def. #71 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7)
4. #30 Carmen Herea (TEXAS) def. #28 Merna Refaat (AUB) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4)
5. Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) 7-6 (19), 6-3
6. Alice Battesti (AUB) def. Salma Drugdova (TEXAS) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,2)
1. #18 DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (AUB) vs. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz/Sabina Zeynalova (TEXAS) 5-4, unf.
2. Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Ashton Bowers/Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) 6-4
3. Ava Esposito/Maria Garcia (AUB) def. Carmen Herea/Salma Drugdova (TEXAS) 6-4
Players Mentioned
