Friday, April 17
Norman, Okla.
10 a.m.
Florida Gators
1
vs
4
Auburn (3 seed)
Xinyi Nong (l) and Nikola Daubnerova talk strategy during their SEC Tournament quarterfinals match vs. Auburn
Six-seed Gators can't quite solve three-seed Auburn at 2026 SEC Women's Tennis Tournament
Friday, April 17, 2026 | Women's Tennis
NORMAN, Okla. — Six-seed Florida had three-seed Auburn back on its collective heals in Friday morning's SEC Women's Tennis Tournament quarterfinals match, but the Tigers rallied to end the Gators quest for a conference championship with a 4-1 win.
Florida was looking not just to advance to the SEC Tournament Semifinals with a win over Auburn, but to pick up its first victory over a top-three team since March 22, 2023 when they bested No. 3 Michigan 4-1. The Tigers came into the week ranked third in the nation, and boasted a 5-2 win over the Gators earlier in the year.
Friday appeared to be a different story in the early going, however. Auburn's number three doubles team of Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Ashton Bowers picked up a 6-2 victory to give the Tigers an early lead, but Brooke Black and Valery Gynina upended the #18 doubles team in the nation of Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat 6-3. That marked the second straight win for Black and Gynina over a top-20 opponent.
It also turned the spotlight to court number one where Nikola Daubernova and Xinyi Nong went up a break early against the number two doubles team in the country in D.J. Bennett and Ava Esposito. The Gators had a pair of match points leading 5-3, but Auburn rallied to extend the set. Daubnerova and Nong closed things out on their very next serve for the 6-4 win. That snapped a five-match winning streak for the Tigers tandem, who were 12-1 over the previous 13 matches. It also marked the Florida duo's second straight win over a top-10 foe.
There was no let down for the Gators at the start of singles competition, as Florida came away with first set wins in three matches against a lineup that featured five players ranked in the top 70 in the country. Black won her first set at number four singles 6-1, while Gabia Paskauskas took her's at number three 6-2, and Lucie Pawlak used a 7-3 tiebreak to eke out a 7-6 first-set victory at number five. Gynina also went to a tiebreak at number two singles but fell 7-6.
Daubnerova dropped her first set 6-3 at number three singles, but bounced back to even the match at a set apiece with a 6-2 win in the second. Unfortunatey, fortune was shining on the Tigers in the remaining five matches. Bennett beat Houghton in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, and Khairutdinova pulled away from Gynina winning the second set 6-1 to put Auburn up 2-1.
Black dropped her second set to Merna Refaat 6-3, and Refaat closed out the match with a 6-4 victory in the third to make it 3-1 Tigers, and Esposito ended the match with a 6-3 win over Daubnerova in the third.
The Gators are making their way back to Gainesville, hoping to become one of the 16 host teams for the first and second rounds of the 64-team NCAA Tournament which are slated to begin Friday, May 1.
FINAL RESULTS
Singles
1 #23 D.J. Bennett (AUB) def. #44 India Houghton (UF) 6-3, 6-3
2 #28 Ekaterina Khairutdinova (AUB) def. #51 Valery Gynina (UF) 7-6 (7-0), 6-1
3 #70 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) unf. #65 Gabia Paskauskas (UF) 2-6, 6-2, 5-2
4 Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Brooke Black (UF) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
5 #55 Ashton Bowers (AUB) unf. #103 Lucie Pawlak (UF) 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 1-0
6 #64 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Nikola Daubnerova (UF) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
Order of Finish. 1, 2, 4, 6
Doubles
1 #19 Xinyi Nong / Daubnerova (UF) unf. #2 Bennett / Esposito (AUB) 6-4
2 #73 Gynina / Black (UF) def. #18 Okutoyi / Refaat (AUB) 6-3
3 Khairutdinova / Bowers (AUB) def. Houghton / Pawlak (UF) 6-2
Order of Finish 3, 2, 1
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Florida was looking not just to advance to the SEC Tournament Semifinals with a win over Auburn, but to pick up its first victory over a top-three team since March 22, 2023 when they bested No. 3 Michigan 4-1. The Tigers came into the week ranked third in the nation, and boasted a 5-2 win over the Gators earlier in the year.
Friday appeared to be a different story in the early going, however. Auburn's number three doubles team of Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Ashton Bowers picked up a 6-2 victory to give the Tigers an early lead, but Brooke Black and Valery Gynina upended the #18 doubles team in the nation of Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat 6-3. That marked the second straight win for Black and Gynina over a top-20 opponent.
It also turned the spotlight to court number one where Nikola Daubernova and Xinyi Nong went up a break early against the number two doubles team in the country in D.J. Bennett and Ava Esposito. The Gators had a pair of match points leading 5-3, but Auburn rallied to extend the set. Daubnerova and Nong closed things out on their very next serve for the 6-4 win. That snapped a five-match winning streak for the Tigers tandem, who were 12-1 over the previous 13 matches. It also marked the Florida duo's second straight win over a top-10 foe.
There was no let down for the Gators at the start of singles competition, as Florida came away with first set wins in three matches against a lineup that featured five players ranked in the top 70 in the country. Black won her first set at number four singles 6-1, while Gabia Paskauskas took her's at number three 6-2, and Lucie Pawlak used a 7-3 tiebreak to eke out a 7-6 first-set victory at number five. Gynina also went to a tiebreak at number two singles but fell 7-6.
Daubnerova dropped her first set 6-3 at number three singles, but bounced back to even the match at a set apiece with a 6-2 win in the second. Unfortunatey, fortune was shining on the Tigers in the remaining five matches. Bennett beat Houghton in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, and Khairutdinova pulled away from Gynina winning the second set 6-1 to put Auburn up 2-1.
Black dropped her second set to Merna Refaat 6-3, and Refaat closed out the match with a 6-4 victory in the third to make it 3-1 Tigers, and Esposito ended the match with a 6-3 win over Daubnerova in the third.
The Gators are making their way back to Gainesville, hoping to become one of the 16 host teams for the first and second rounds of the 64-team NCAA Tournament which are slated to begin Friday, May 1.
FINAL RESULTS
Singles
1 #23 D.J. Bennett (AUB) def. #44 India Houghton (UF) 6-3, 6-3
2 #28 Ekaterina Khairutdinova (AUB) def. #51 Valery Gynina (UF) 7-6 (7-0), 6-1
3 #70 Angella Okutoyi (AUB) unf. #65 Gabia Paskauskas (UF) 2-6, 6-2, 5-2
4 Merna Refaat (AUB) def. Brooke Black (UF) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
5 #55 Ashton Bowers (AUB) unf. #103 Lucie Pawlak (UF) 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 1-0
6 #64 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Nikola Daubnerova (UF) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
Order of Finish. 1, 2, 4, 6
Doubles
1 #19 Xinyi Nong / Daubnerova (UF) unf. #2 Bennett / Esposito (AUB) 6-4
2 #73 Gynina / Black (UF) def. #18 Okutoyi / Refaat (AUB) 6-3
3 Khairutdinova / Bowers (AUB) def. Houghton / Pawlak (UF) 6-2
Order of Finish 3, 2, 1
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
33
66
#2 Singles Match
12
61
76
#3 Singles Match
1234
622UF
265UF
#4 Singles Match
123
634
166
#5 Singles Match
1234
750UF
671UF
#6 Singles Match
123
363
626
Order of Finish:
1,2,4,6
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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