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Texas A&M
No. 20 Women's Tennis tops Texas A&M, 5-2
04.16.2008 | Women's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- No. 20 Texas (15-4, 9-0) dropped the doubles point but rallied with five singles victories, as the Horns posted a 5-2 victory over No. 31 Texas A&M (14-7, 8-2) Wednesday evening at A&M's Mitchell Tennis Center.
Texas scores its fourth straight victory over Texas A&M and its first on the Aggies' home courts since 2004. Texas, who sits atop the Big 12 standings alongside Baylor, tallies one point in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown standings, where Texas A&M leads, 7.0-5.5.
Texas A&M opened the match by capturing a hard-fought doubles point. The Aggies opened with a win at second doubles, as Christi Liles and Elze Potgieter dealt UT freshman Maggie Mello and senior Courtney Zauft an 8-2 defeat. Texas junior Marija Milic and sophomore Vanja Corovic trailed A&M's Anna Blagodarova and Tiffany Clifford by a 6-3 margin at first doubles before rebounding to even the match at six games apiece.
However, the Aggies held serve in the next game and broke Corovic in the following game to take the match, 8-6, and clinch the doubles point. Texas A&M's Stephanie Davidson and Morgan Frank rallied for an 8-7 (4) win at third doubles over UT's Stephanie Davison and Caroline Larsson.
Texas rebounded early on in singles play, posting victories at the fourth, sixth and third singles positions to assume a 3-1 lead. Larsson evened the tally at one with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the fourth slot over Clifford, and UT took the lead with a 6-2, 6-3 win from Mello over Davidson at sixth singles. Texas pushed its lead to 3-1 when Davison posted a 6-4, 6-4 win over Blagodarova at the third slot.
Texas A&M pulled within 3-2 when Liles defeated Zauft by a 6-4, 6-3 count at second singles, but Corovic, in a match spanning well over two hours, outlasted A&M's Potgieter at first singles, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, to clinch the match for the Longhorns.
Sophomore Sarah Lancaster took the first set off of A&M's Frank at fifth singles, 7-5, before relinquishing the second, 3-6. Lancaster took over in the final set, winning 6-1 to end the match at 5-2 in favor of the Longhorns.
Texas faces No. 3 Baylor on Saturday, April 19 in a match-up with Big 12 Championship implications. A Baylor win would clinch the Big 12 regular season title for the Bears, while a Texas win would put the Longhorns in sole possession of first place with another home match remaining on Sunday, April 20 against Texas Tech.
First serve for Saturday's match with Baylor is set for noon on Saturday at UT's Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
No. 20 Texas 5, No. 31 Texas A&M 2
Doubles - Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
1. No. 59 Anna Blagodarova/Tiffany Clifford (TAMU) def. Corovic/Milic (UT) - 8-6
2. Christi Liles/Elze Potgieter (TAMU) def. Mello/Zauft (UT) - 8-2
3. Stephanie Davidson/Morgan Frank (TAMU) def. Davison/Larsson (UT) - 8-7 (4)
Singles - Order of Finish: 4, 6, 3, 2, 1, 5
1. Vanja Corovic (UT) def. Elze Potgieter (TAMU) - 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
2. Christi Liles (TAMU) def. Courtney Zauft (UT) - 6-4, 6-3
3. Stephanie Davison (UT) def. Anna Blagodarova (TAMU) - 6-4, 6-4
4. Caroline Larsson (UT) def. Tiffany Clifford (TAMU) - 6-3, 6-3
5. Sarah Lancaster (UT) def. Morgan Frank (TAMU) - 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
6. Maggie Mello (UT) def. Stephanie Davidson (TAMU) - 6-2, 6-3
