SIX IN A ROW: Insights and highlights from Auburn’s sixth straight rivalry win over Alabama
The fourth-year seniors for No. 2 Auburn moved to a perfect 4-0 in their careers against Alabama, having never lost in the rivalry.
DJ Bennett didn’t even consider the stat until the day before Saturday’s match.
But it sure crossed her mind during it.
A senior for Auburn women’s tennis going for her fourth win over Alabama in her four years, for a perfect 4-0 rivalry record, Bennett also had not lost to an Alabama player during her career at Auburn.
She entered Saturday’s rivalry match 5-0 against Crimson Tide opponents, counting three regular-season conference matches with Alabama her freshman through junior years, plus two fall wins at ITA Regionals and an Auburn Invite match.
Laughing about it after, Bennett seemed to think it was only fitting that in her last scheduled match against Alabama, she’d drop the first set and trail early.
“I didn’t even think about that stat until somebody said to me yesterday. So I was kind of thinking about it in my match. I lost the first set and I was down in the second and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?!’” Bennett laughed. “But, no, it’s cool. It’s a cool stat to have, for sure.”
Cool, at the end of the day, because, yes, Bennett came back to win her match handedly in a truncated third-set tiebreaker, and after just a bit of tension on the singles courts, Auburn pulled away to win Saturday’s rivalry match comfortably at 6-1. Auburn’s last team loss to Alabama came before COVID, in March 2019.
Bennett with her comeback win also moved to 6-0 collegiately against Crimson Tide opponents.
Her running partner of four years now, fellow senior Angella Okutoyi also in her fourth year on the Plains, won 6-3, 6-1 on Court 3 to pick up her fourth win against Alabama players.
Okutoyi has also earned a pair of doubles wins over Alabama in her career, and Bennett after Saturday has two doubles wins over Alabama to her name, as well.
Most importantly, they’re both 4-0 over Alabama in team play — and unless the rivals cross paths in either the SEC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament, they’ll both close their careers having never lost to the Tide.
Also importantly: Auburn moved to 26-2 on the season and 10-1 in SEC play.
Here are highlights from Saturday’s rivalry win, and a look at new program record, plus words from Okutoyi, and where Auburn stands in its chase for an SEC championship after a strong bounce back: