No. 13 Auburn women’s tennis downs No. 10 South Carolina on Senior Day
AUBURN, Ala. (auburntigers.com) – No. 13 Auburn improved to 20-4 (8-2 SEC) on the season with a 4-3 upset over No. 10 South Carolina on senior day. Pleun Burgmans also became the all-time combined wins leader with her 186th career victory.
“There is not enough that I could say about how much the two seniors mean to the program,” said Auburn head coach Lauren Spencer. “They are both fantastic leaders and we appreciate what they bring to the team every single day. Together, they are one of my strongest pair of captains that I have ever had. Pleun and Paula exemplify the type of culture we are trying to build at Auburn.”
Auburn jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over No. 10 South Carolina after clinching the doubles point. Alannah Griffin and Andie Dikosavljevic improved to 11-2 (2-1 SEC) on the season with a 6-2 victory over Ingrid Martins and Rachel Rohrabacher of USC.
“This was probably one of the best doubles point we have had all season,” said Spencer. “We knew South Carolina was going to be tough in doubles, but our matches on courts one and three were spectacular. I think it’s some of the best tennis we have played all year.”
No. 22 Burgmans and Alizee Michaud clinched the doubles point for Auburn with a 6-2 win over No. 24 Paige Cline and Hadley Berg. With the win, Burgmans now has 102 career doubles victories and the all-time leader in combined wins in program history.
“This is such a big deal for her,” said Spencer. “She really portrays the culture we are trying to build. She is extremely classy, resilient and she always plays for the team. She has had a remarkable career. Pleun has made her mark on Auburn forever and I am so proud of the leader and person she has become.”
Dikosavljevic gave Auburn a 2-0 lead with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 win over No. 83 Dailey of South Carolina. She improves to 21-12 (5-5 SEC) on the season.
“Andie (Dikosavljevic) showed great leadership at the one position,” Spencer said. “I think this is three matches in a row that she has won and she is starting to gain a lot of confidence.”
Michaud tied the match at 3-3 with a thriller over No. 63 Ingrid Martins. After dropping the first set, Alizee Michaud roared back to take the next two sets and win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
“This was one of the toughest battles we have had all season,” said Spencer. “I think Allie (Michaud) needed this match. She has been struggling a little bit with her confidence and the fact that she could find a way to win was great.”
Griffin (24-9, 7-0 SEC) clinched the match for Auburn and remained undefeated in the SEC in one of her best matches of the season. Trailing 5-2 in the third set, Griffin battled back to clinch the upset over No. 10 South Carolina, beating Hadley Berg of South Carolina 3-6, 7-6, 7-5.
“Alannah (Griffin) is the person you want on the court in tough situations,” Spencer said. “I knew that even though she was down 5-2 in the third set, she still had a very good chance to come back and clinch it for us. She really loves playing for her team and something that is bigger than herself.”
Auburn women’s tennis will return to action Sunday in the final home game of the season as No. 8 Florida travels to Yarbrough Tennis Center. The match begins at 1 p.m. and admission is free.
