AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 6 Auburn Tigers secured a 4-2 victory against No. 13 Vanderbilt on Friday afternoon during the SEC Championship quarterfinals at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama. Although Auburn fell behind by losing the doubles point, they rallied with four singles wins, with freshman Merna Refaat sealing the match victory through a three-set triumph at the No. 4 singles spot, earning the team a place in Saturday’s semifinals.
That ADVANCING feeling 🤩🤩#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/yvUZG1vWBM
— Auburn Women’s Tennis (@AuburnWTennis) April 19, 2025
“It was a really good win for us,” commented Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo. “We started off slow and I believe we were a bit nervous while Vanderbilt already had a match experience under their belt. That made things challenging, but we have to come prepared from the start as we managed to pull through in the end. The doubles point wasn’t crucial today, but it’s important for us to perform well in that area.”
Auburn faced a tough start in doubles as Vanderbilt clinched a 6-2 win at the No. 3 position and rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to win 6-3 on court two, securing the doubles point early on.
In singles, Auburn quickly secured three opening set victories from Angella Okutoyi, Alice Battesti, and Ava Esposito, while dropping the other three matches. The Commodores extended their lead to 2-0 by winning the top doubles court in straight sets.
Battesti, having taken a 5-1 lead in the first set against Amy Stevens, eventually closed out the set at 6-3. After falling behind 3-1 in the second set, Stevens broke Battesti once but Battesti managed to win the match 6-3, 6-2, marking Auburn’s opening point in the contest.
In a remarkable comeback, Ava Hrastar won her match after dropping a tight first set. After taking the second set 6-1, she won five straight games in the third set to defeat No. 52 Bridget Stammel and put Auburn ahead 3-2.
In a decisive final match, Refaat lost the first set to Vanderbilt’s Sophia Webster but rallied to win the second set and pushed the match into a third set. With two breaks in the final set, Refaat led 5-1, clinching a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Webster, sealing the match and triggering celebrations among her teammates.
With this victory, Auburn advances to the SEC Championship semifinals for the third time in program history and for the first time since 2017. The Tigers are set to compete against the winner of the evening match between No. 1 Texas A&M and No. 14 Texas at 3 p.m. CT at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Admission for fans attending Saturday’s semifinal match is free, and additional information for spectators can be found on the Championship Central page at AuburnTigers.com. The match will be broadcasted live on SEC Network +, with live scoring available at AuburnTigers.com.
#6 Auburn 4, #13 Vanderbilt 2
Singles Results:
- #10 Celia-Belle Mohr (VANDY) def. #4 DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-4, 6-0
- #59 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. #62 Valeria Ray (VANDY) 6-2, 6-2
- #79 Ava Hrastar (AUB) def. #52 Bridget Stammel (VANDY) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
- #57 Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Sophia Webster (VANDY) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
- Ava Esposito (AUB) vs. Trinetra Vijayakumar (VANDY) 7-6, 5-7, 1-5, unfinished
- Alice Battesti (AUB) def. Amy Stevens (VANDY) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Results:
- #19 DJ Bennett/Ava Hrastar (AUB) vs. #14 Celia-Belle Mohr/Sophia Webster (VANDY) 4-3, unfinished
- Valeria Ray/Bridget Stammel (VANDY) def. #53 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AUB) 6-3
- Amy Stevens/Sonya Macavei (VANDY) def. Ava Esposito/Maria Garcia (AUB) 6-2
