The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
William & Mary
Women's Tennis stops No. 16 William & Mary, 5-2
02.22.2008 | Women's Tennis
AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 27 Texas (4-1) nailed down the doubles point and took four of six singles matches, including the clincher from freshman Caroline Larsson, as the Longhorns knocked off 16th-ranked William & Mary (8-4) by a 5-2 count Friday afternoon at UT's Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
"This was a big test for us," UT coach Patty Fendick-McCain said. "We finally got the chance to play a top-20 team at home, and these ladies rose to the occasion."
Texas opened with wins at the second and third doubles positions to assume a 1-0 lead. Freshman Maggie Mello (Laguna Hills, Calif.) and senior Courtney Zauft (San Antonio, Texas) scored an 8-5 win at the second slot over Ragini Acharya and Lauren Sabacinski, and sophomore Stephanie Davison (Port Orchard, Wash.) and Larsson dealt the Tribe's Carmen Pop and Klaudyna Kasztelaniec an 8-5 loss at the third slot to secure the doubles point.
William & Mary evened the tally at one point apiece with a win at first singles, but Texas took control from there, winning the next four singles contests. Mello gave UT the lead for good with a 6-2, 6-2 win at the fifth slot over Sabacinski, and Zauft pushed the Longhorns' lead to 3-1 with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 showing over Acharya at third singles.
"Courtney (Zauft) ran a clinic out there, and she played great," Fendick-McCain said. "She was pretty disappointed in her outcome last week, and she worked extremely hard on her game this week. She put the ball into play brilliantly today."
Larsson (Sodertalje, Sweden) clinched the Texas victory with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Kasztelaniec at the fourth slot, and sophomore Sarah Lancaster (San Antonio, Texas) rallied for a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 1-0 (10-4) win over Pop at sixth singles to push the Texas lead to 5-1. The Tribe ended the match with a straight-set win at second singles for the final 5-2 margin.
"Our freshman duo (Larsson and Mello) is putting points on the board every week for us," Fendick-McCain added. "Sarah Lancaster is undefeated at sixth singles. She has stepped up her game and is playing aggressively. I'm really proud of these ladies."
Texas wraps up its weekend on Sunday, Feb. 24 when it hosts No. 5 Florida at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center. First serve is set for noon Central.
No. 27 Texas 5, No. 16 William & Mary 2
Doubles - Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
1. No. 26 Moulton-Levy/Zoricic (W&M) def. No. 29 Corovic/Milic (UT) - 8-5
2. Mello/Zauft (UT) def. Acharya/Sabacinski (W&M) - 8-5
3. Davison/Larsson (UT) def. Pop/Kasztelaniec (W&M) - 8-5
Singles - Order of Finish: 1, 5, 3, 4, 6, 2
1. No. 8 Megan Moulton-Levy (W&M) def. Vanja Corovic (UT) - 6-2, 6-2
2. Katarina Zoricic (W&M) def. Stephanie Davison (UT) - 7-6, 6-3
3. Courtney Zauft (UT) def. Ragini Acharya (W&M) - 6-2, 6-1
4. Caroline Larsson (UT) def. Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) - 6-2, 6-3
5. Maggie Mello (UT) def. Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) - 6-2, 6-2
6. Sarah Lancaster (UT) def. Carmen Pop (W&M) - 6-7 (3), 6-2, 1-0 (10-4)
