Auburn defeats LSU to move on to the NCAA Championship semifinals

Auburn women’s tennis defeats LSU in the NCAA Championship quarterfinal to advance to the semifinals on Saturday, May 16.

The run continues for the ITA No. 1-ranked Tigers as they took down LSU 4-1 in Athens, Georgia, at Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Friday in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals. Auburn’s victory is marked by multiple comebacks after dropping the first set in five of its singles courts.

A major component to the Tigers’ win was securing the doubles point to start the day. Allowed Auburn to have some breathing room against LSU. Things were not easy throughout, as Auburn would go on to struggle early in singles.

Courts three through six all dropped the opening set, but incredibly pushed through and forced a third in every one of those matches. At the No. 2 court, Auburn’s Ekaterina Khairutdinova faced off against LSU’s Kayla Cross. The first set went to Khairutdinova after winning the tiebreak 7-4. She would go on to win the second set 6-4 to put away the match. A true showing of mental toughness was shown at the No. 3 court by Auburn’s Angella Okutoyi as she dropped the first set 1-6 to LSU’s Ella McDonald. Okutoyi battled back to win the next two sets 6-4, 6-4 to claim another victory for Auburn.

Now, Auburn will face off against Ohio State, after the Buckeyes defeated Pepperdine 4-0. The two will play on Saturday, May 16, at 3 p.m. CT in the NCAA Championship semifinals, with the winner advancing to the national championship on the following day, Sunday, May 17. All matches are taking place in Athens, Georgia, at the No. 1-seeded Georgia Bulldogs’ Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The semifinal will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn women’s tennis defeats LSU to advance to NCAA semifinals