No. 1 Georgia Shuts Out No. 4 Auburn, 4-0

Saturday, March 21

Athens, Ga.

3:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

Auburn

March 21, 2026 | Women's Tennis

ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs (12-3, 7-2 SEC) defeated No. 4 Auburn (24-2, 8-1 SEC), 4-0, handing them their first loss of conference play Saturday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Fast Facts

Georgia holds a 62-10 advantage in the all-time series against Auburn.
The Bulldogs handed the Tigers their first SEC loss of the season.
Georgia ended Auburn's streak of 25 consecutive doubles points in dual matches.
The No. 7 Turkish duo of Deniz Dilek and Aysegul Mert earned the first doubles win, defeating No. 20 Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat, 6-3.
Anastasiia Lopata and Patricija Paukstyte clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win over No. 16 Ava Esposito and DJ Bennett on court one.
No. 6 Mert put Georgia on the board in singles with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 55 Ekaterina Khayrutidinova at the No. 2 position.
Dong extended the lead, defeating No. 122 Refaat, 6-2, 6-2, for her fifth consecutive singles victory.
Lopata clinched the match for the Bulldogs on court one with a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 43 Bennett, marking her second win over Bennett this season after a three-set victory in the ITA Indoor National Championships semifinals, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Results
Doubles:
1. Anastasiia Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. #16 DJ Bennett/Ava Espositio (AU): 6-4
2. #7 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. #20 Angella Okutoyi/Merna Refaat (AU): 6-3
3. Anastasiia Gureva/Emma Dong (UGA) vs. Ekaterina Khaurutdin/Ashton Bowers (AU): 4-5, unfinished

Singles:
1. #28 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. #43 DJ Bennett (AU): 6-3, 6-2
2. #6 Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. #55 Ekaterina Khaurutdin (AU): 6-1, 6-1
3. #68 Deniz Dilek (UGA) vs. #94 Angella Okutoyi (AU): 0-6, 6-5, unfinished
4. #42 Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) vs. #38 Ashton Bowers (AU): (2)6-7, 3-2, unfinished
5. Emma Dong (UGA) def. #122 Merna Refaat (AU): 6-2, 6-2
6. #97 Sofia Rojas (UGA) vs. #49 Ava Esposito (AU): 7-6(5), 2-2, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1); Singles (2, 5, 1)

Key Quotes
Head Coach Drake Bernstein
On the match…
"I'm really proud of this community for showing up the way that they did out here.
It provides for a great setting to play tennis. I've said it before, I think this is the greatest place to play college tennis because of days like today. The community's a big part of that…This team has worked their tail off. I'm really proud of the way that they went about competing today. We talk about doing what we do with love, and that was really evident today. Proud of our team, ready for the next."

Senior Anastasiia Lopata
"I think it's definitely a good win for us because it gives us a chance to compete for the SEC title in the regular season. We are just going to keep doing our best in the next matches. Keep working and keep getting better."

Up Next
The No. 1 Bulldogs continue SEC play in Fayetteville to take on the No. 50 Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday, March 27 at 5 p.m. ET at the Billingsley Tennis Center.

Follow the Dawgs
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