Sunday, January 18
Auburn, Ala.
11:00 AM ET/10:00 AM CT
Liberty University
0
at
7
No. 4 Auburn
No. 4 Auburn Takes Down Liberty with 7-0 Triumph
1/18/2026 2:14:00 PM | Women's Tennis
AUBURN, Ala. – No. 4 Auburn (5-0) took down Liberty (1-1) with a 7-0 sweep on Sunday morning in Auburn, Ala. The Lady Flames earned a 1-1 road trip with a 6-1 triumph over Western Carolina on Friday.
Liberty was swept in the doubles round, winning four total games across three courts. Daniella O'Neill and Milana Tsulygina were tied at 2-2 but lost four consecutive games to fall 6-2.
Auburn won every first set in singles. Candy Wai jumped out to a two-game lead in the No. 4 singles match and performed better than any Lady Flame with a 6-3 first set.
Liberty got off to a quicker start in the second sets, gaining multiple early leads and forcing contested sets. Two Lady Flames, Tsulygina (No. 5) and Celina Joseph (No. 6) forced a tiebreaker in the second set. Maria Turchetto held a 3-0 second-set lead in the No. 2 singles match before falling 6-1, 7-5. Candy Wai was taken down 6-3, 6-4 on court four.
Daniella O'Neill and Joseph took on highly ranked opponents against No. 27 Ashton Bowers and No. 28 Ava Esposito. O'Neill fell 6-3, 6-4 while Joseph suffered a 6-1, 7-6 (4) defeat.
No. 4 Auburn 7, Liberty 0
Singles Competition
1. E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) 6-0, 6-1
2. DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) 6-1, 7-5
3. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Daniella O'Neill (LIBERTYW) 6-2, 6-3
4. #27 Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Candy Wai (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 6-4
5. Eva Ionescu (AUB) def. Milana Tsulygina (LIBERTYW) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
6. #28 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles Competition
1. Ava Esposito/DJ Bennett (AUB) vs. Yoanna Radulova/Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) 5-2, unfinished
2. Merna Refaat/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Milana Tsulygina/Daniella O'Neill (LIBERTYW) 6-2
3. E. Khairutdinova/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Candy Wai/Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) 6-0
Liberty 1-1
No. 4 Auburn 5-0
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,3,6,4,5,2)
Official: Donna Jerome T-1:36 A-97
Up Next
The Lady Flames (1-1) host their home opener with two matches this weekend at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center. Liberty hosts Delaware in its home opener on Friday at 2 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+. The Lady Flames return Sunday to take on Bellarmine (3-2) at noon.
Liberty was swept in the doubles round, winning four total games across three courts. Daniella O'Neill and Milana Tsulygina were tied at 2-2 but lost four consecutive games to fall 6-2.
Auburn won every first set in singles. Candy Wai jumped out to a two-game lead in the No. 4 singles match and performed better than any Lady Flame with a 6-3 first set.
Liberty got off to a quicker start in the second sets, gaining multiple early leads and forcing contested sets. Two Lady Flames, Tsulygina (No. 5) and Celina Joseph (No. 6) forced a tiebreaker in the second set. Maria Turchetto held a 3-0 second-set lead in the No. 2 singles match before falling 6-1, 7-5. Candy Wai was taken down 6-3, 6-4 on court four.
Daniella O'Neill and Joseph took on highly ranked opponents against No. 27 Ashton Bowers and No. 28 Ava Esposito. O'Neill fell 6-3, 6-4 while Joseph suffered a 6-1, 7-6 (4) defeat.
No. 4 Auburn 7, Liberty 0
Singles Competition
1. E. Khairutdinova (AUB) def. Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) 6-0, 6-1
2. DJ Bennett (AUB) def. Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) 6-1, 7-5
3. Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Daniella O'Neill (LIBERTYW) 6-2, 6-3
4. #27 Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Candy Wai (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 6-4
5. Eva Ionescu (AUB) def. Milana Tsulygina (LIBERTYW) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
6. #28 Ava Esposito (AUB) def. Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles Competition
1. Ava Esposito/DJ Bennett (AUB) vs. Yoanna Radulova/Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) 5-2, unfinished
2. Merna Refaat/Angella Okutoyi (AUB) def. Milana Tsulygina/Daniella O'Neill (LIBERTYW) 6-2
3. E. Khairutdinova/Ashton Bowers (AUB) def. Candy Wai/Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) 6-0
Liberty 1-1
No. 4 Auburn 5-0
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,3,6,4,5,2)
Official: Donna Jerome T-1:36 A-97
Up Next
The Lady Flames (1-1) host their home opener with two matches this weekend at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center. Liberty hosts Delaware in its home opener on Friday at 2 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+. The Lady Flames return Sunday to take on Bellarmine (3-2) at noon.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
01
E. Khairutdinova / 0 [AUB]
66
#2 Singles Match
12
15
DJ Bennett / 0 [AUB]
67
#3 Singles Match
12
23
Angella Okutoyi / 0 [AUB]
66
#4 Singles Match
12
34
Ashton Bowers / 0 (27/-) [AUB]
66
#5 Singles Match
12
26
Eva Ionescu / 0 [AUB]
67
#6 Singles Match
12
16
Ava Esposito / 0 (28/-) [AUB]
67
Order of Finish:
1,3,6,4,5,2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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