From the HERE City National Desk
BATON ROUGE, La. — Auburn’s Ashton Bowers defended her ITA Southern Regional singles title Monday, beating LSU’s Addison Lanton 7-5, 6-4 in the final at the LSU Tennis Complex and clinched an NCAA Singles Championship bid.
Bowers, the top seed, dropped just one set all week. She opened with wins over Mississippi State’s Lauren Seye and Alabama’s Klara Kajabova, then beat LSU’s Nada Fouad and Ole Miss’ Andrea Nova to reach the final. Monday’s meeting with Lanton was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Bowers also won.
Auburn sent four players to Baton Rouge, and all four entered the main draw without qualifying. Natalie Outcalt, Kaya Moe and Ava Esposito each posted early wins before exiting before the final. Bowers and Esposito won a doubles match before falling to LSU in the next round.
Head coach Jordan Szabo said Bowers stayed poised in big moments as a top seed with a target on her back and is excited to see her play in Athens later this fall. The NCAA Singles Championship is scheduled for Athens, Georgia.
Auburn next competes at the ITF W50 Austin beginning Oct. 19 at the Courtyard Racquet Club in Austin, Texas.
