{"id":645708,"date":"2026-05-16T00:34:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T00:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/645708\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T00:34:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T00:34:21","slug":"no-1-womens-tennis-defeats-no-10-lsu-in-ncaa-quarterfinals-auburn-tigers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/645708\/","title":{"rendered":"No. 1 Women\u2019s tennis defeats No. 10 LSU in NCAA Quarterfinals – Auburn Tigers"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATHENS, Ga. \u2013 No. 1 Auburn women\u2019s tennis defeated No. 10 LSU 4-1 on Friday in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia. After winning the doubles point, Auburn dropped the opening set on five courts to begin singles but rallied to earn the win with singles victories from Ekaterina Khairutdinova<\/a>, Angella Okutoyi<\/a> and Eva Ionescu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Auburn will face No. 4 Ohio State in the NCAA Championship semifinals on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning the doubles point was huge for us,\u201d Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo<\/a> said. \u201cWe\u2019ve only lost a couple all year, so winning that was very good for us, but we put ourselves in a big hole. We didn\u2019t want to be there and didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot 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. 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\u2019ve worked so hard all year, and they\u2019re a great group.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu for Eva Ionescu<\/a> \ud83c\udfc6#WarEagle<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/UjKhenxofX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Auburn Women’s Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Khairutdinova and Ashton Bowers<\/a> continued their recent dominance at the No. 3 doubles position Friday to get the Tigers off to a quick start. The Auburn pair traded games early with LSU\u2019s Carolina Kuhl and Addison Lanton before winning four consecutive games to close out a 6-3 victory for their 30th doubles win together this spring. LSU responded with a 6-4 win on the top doubles court, leaving the point to be decided on court two.<\/p>\n

LSU\u2019s Kenna Erickson and Ella McDonald took a 4-2 lead over Auburn\u2019s Angella Okutoyi<\/a> and Merna Refaat<\/a> at the No. 2 position. Okutoyi and Refaat responded by winning four straight games, breaking serve twice to clinch the doubles point for Auburn.<\/p>\n

Angie and Merna secure the doubles point \ud83d\udd12<\/p>\n

Auburn leads LSU 1\ufe0f\u20e3-0\ufe0f\u20e3#WarEagle<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/owxiv5QZej<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Auburn Women’s Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The bottom of Auburn\u2019s singles lineup saw a change from the first three rounds of the NCAA Championship, with Bowers and Esposito moving up to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, and Ionescu entering the No. 6 position. LSU took the upper hand early in singles, winning the first set on five courts.<\/p>\n

At the No. 2 singles position, LSU\u2019s Kayla Cross traded breaks with Khairutdinova through the first four games of the opening set. With the set tied 5-5, both players held serve on deciding points to force a tiebreaker. Khairutdinova won three consecutive points late to secure a 7-4 tiebreak win and ignite the Auburn supporters in the crowd.<\/p>\n

Cross jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second set, but Khairutdinova responded with a hold to 15 and a break to love to even the set at 4-4. The Auburn senior then held serve before breaking to love again to close out the match and extend Auburn\u2019s lead to 2-0.<\/p>\n

KATYA TAKES IT IN STRAIGHT SETS \ud83d\ude24<\/p>\n

Auburn now leads LSU 2\ufe0f\u20e3-0\ufe0f\u20e3 in Athens#WarEagle<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/KO0cGyY0XH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Auburn Women’s Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Momentum shifted after Khairutdinova\u2019s win, as Okutoyi, Bowers, Ionescu and Esposito each forced a third set in their respective matches.<\/p>\n

Okutoyi dropped her opening set to LSU\u2019s Ella McDonald before battling back. With the second set tied 4-4, she secured a crucial break on a deciding point and held serve to force a third set. In the final set, McDonald led 3-1 before Okutoyi responded to tie the match at 3-3. She then broke to love before going on to complete a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Okutoyi is now 21-2 this season and has won 14 consecutive singles matches that have reached completion.<\/p>\n

Angella Okutoyi<\/a> completes the comeback to win in three sets \ud83d\udcaa<\/p>\n

Auburn is one singles win away from victory, it\u2019s 3-0#WarEagle<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/GQ6trVaJLu<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Auburn Women’s Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

At the No. 6 position, LSU\u2019s Kinaa Graham claimed the first set 6-4. Ionescu quickly shifted momentum, delivering a 6-0 second set to force a third. The Auburn freshman extended her run to nine straight games since losing the opening set to build a 3-0 lead in the third before Graham rallied to tie the set at 4-4. Ionescu broke to love to take a 6-5 lead in the set and held serve to complete a 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 win and clinch the match for Auburn.<\/p>\n

Ionescu has now clinched two wins over LSU this season, also securing the deciding point against Graham in the SEC Tournament final in Norman, Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

With the win, Auburn improves to 36-3 overall and has won 10 straight matches. The Tigers have earned six victories over top-10 opponents this season.<\/p>\n

Live streaming of Saturday\u2019s semifinal will be available on ESPN+, with individual court feeds and live scoring available at GeorgiaDogs.com.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

#1 Auburn 4, #10 LSU 1<\/p>\n

Singles Results:<\/p>\n

#9 Cadence Brace (LSU) def. #16 DJ Bennett<\/a> (AUB) 6-3, 7-5
\n#31 E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. #21 Kayla Cross (LSU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
\n#55 Angella Okutoyi<\/a> (AUB) def. #77 Ella McDonald (LSU) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
\n#58 Ashton Bowers<\/a> (AUB) vs. #96 Addison Lanton (LSU) 3-6, 7-5, 1-4, unfinished
\n#68 Ava Esposito<\/a> (AUB) vs. Carolina Kuhl (LSU) 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 2-2, unfinished
\nEva Ionescu<\/a> (AUB) def. Kinaa Graham (LSU) 4-6, 6-0, 7-5<\/p>\n

Doubles Results:<\/p>\n

#40 Cadence Brace\/Kayla Cross (LSU) def. #2 Ava Esposito<\/a>\/DJ Bennett<\/a> (AUB) 6-4
\n#8 Angella Okutoyi<\/a>\/Merna Refaat<\/a> (AUB) def. #17 Kenna Erickson\/Ella McDonald (LSU) 6-4
\nE. Khairutdinova\/Ashton Bowers<\/a> (AUB) def. Carolina Kuhl\/Addison Lanton (LSU) 6-3<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Time of match: 3:06 Order of finish: Doubles: 3,1,2; Singles: 2,3,1,6<\/p>\n