No. 2 Auburn bursts past No. 3 Ohio State into NCAA Championship match
ATHENS, G.A. — It was a pretty routine path for the Tigers to secure a national championship berth versus the Buckeyes. Despite being outmatched in the top two spots of the singles lineup, Auburn's depth was the difference maker.
Auburn (36-3) took the doubles point with relative ease on Courts 1 and 2, and parlayed that success on the lower courts. The only Tiger that lost was No. 16 DJ Bennett, falling to No. 5 Teah Chavez in straight-sets. Court 2 was also leaning in the direction of Ohio State (27-5) and No. 4 Luciana Perry. But other than that, Auburn was in full control — all that it needed to move on to the final.
The Tigers extended their win streak to 11 matches, after opening the postseason by winning the SEC Championship. But now, they eye an even more monumental trophy.
The first clinch came from Court 6 as No. 68 Eva Esposito won 7-5 in the first set and delivered a bagel in the second, 6-0 versus Hephzibah Oluwadare.
That just left No. 55 Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat on Courts 3 and 4, both playing match points at the same time. First, Okutoyi took Court 3 6-4, 6-3 versus Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev. Then, Refaat won on Court 4 versus No. 123 Audrey Spencer 6-4, 6-2 to send the Tigers to the next round.
That came after Refaat was pulled from the lineup in the previous match to possibly help her be ready for this matchup as the sophomore had been coming off of an injury. Well, it paid off as she looked very fresh versus Spencer.
The Tigers will face either No. 1 Georgia or No. 4 Texas A&M at 7 p.m. at Dan Magill Tennis Center for the national championship.
